Superstition on board: some always climb last and some always choose the same seat

I didn't think superstition was so present in the flying world, Certainly the airlines avoid having certain numbers on board, and for the record. there are hotels that do the same thing, but That there were so many superstitious travelers I would not have expected.

Here are the five most common types.

Those who pat the plane before boarding

This is probably the most frequent superstition, The one that at least once in your life you must have noticed. A lot of passengers, when they get on they touch the outside of the fuselage, almost as if to give it a caress, and in some cases I've actually witnessed passenger-machine talk.

Perhaps that is why Lufthansa decided to put its designs in this very spot and Southwest put its heart in the same spot.

Who never books a flight on a particular day

Obviously those who have these beliefs, I would have no idea what to call them, are every day. A couple of readers have written to me, for example, that they never book on a particular day of the week, or those that book only at a particular time of day, not forgetting those that also take into account the number of the day.

I am agnostic, I have never believed in the black cat or the broken mirror, but of course there are just as many people who instead live with a philosophy contrary to mine and are certain that certain actions can improve, or not harm, everyday life.

Those who always choose the same seat on board

The seat is crucial, so much so that for some people the exact seat matters. I have seen people ask for seat changes not to be near friends, children or relatives, but because they wanted their favorite seat.

In the course of my hunt for a million SAS miles I met a Korean guy, as we boarded a half-empty plane to my question "do we sit next to each other" he said, "I always sit next to the bulkhead, I don't want to have anyone behind me!"

This superstition comes in many ways, I think you may have realized, depending on the carrier and the area of the world where you are, there are files on board that do not exist. Similarly, there are passengers who never pick a particular row because they do not want to be associated with that specific number.

Those who always board last

I admit that I had never noticed this, partly because as you can see in my videos I always try to board first. Then a passenger I met in the lounge told me his superstition, "I always board last."

Intrigued, I asked him how he does it, and he explained that he sits in front of the gate until he sees other passengers around, until the agents are ready to "close" the door. He also told me that he often sees other passengers with his own skittishness and that it is a challenge to see who leaves first, a kind of duel outside the saloon.

Who always wears the same garment/accessory

I have seen people fly with their home pillow, but I thought it was for comfort, not superstition. Instead, talking to a flight attendant, she explained to me that there are passengers, even frequent fliers, who in addition to having the "fixations" I wrote above, always have the same garment or accessory.

In conclusion

I don't have any of these superstitions, but I'm curious are you ?

• Curiosities