LUTON, ENGLAND — Hello, welcome to easyJet. Would you like a window seat, aisle seat, or a backless one?
Sounds odd, we know, but for one woman a seat without a back was her only option on a recent easyJet flight from Luton to Geneva.
In a photo uploaded to Twitter by fellow passenger Matthew Harris, the unidentified woman is seen sitting onboard the plane in an aisle seat that was completely missing a back. In his tweet, Harris wrote: “#easyjet beats @Ryanair to have backless seats. This is flight 2021 Luton to Geneva. How can this be allowed.”
#easyjet beats @Ryanair to have backless seats. @IATA @EASA this is flight 2021 Luton to Geneva. How can this be allowed. @GeneveAeroport @easyJet_press @easyJet pic.twitter.com/EthMoWRR8P
— Matthew Harris (@mattiasharris) August 6, 2019
The airline responded to his tweet, thanking Harris for bringing the situation to their attention. It then asked Harris to remove the photograph and direct-message them before they investigate further.
Harris refused to take down the photo, replying with: “One has to wonder how safe the rest of the plane was. This was her seat. The lady was moved to a spare seat once the flight was fully boarded. Not sure what would have happened if the flight was full.”
Hi Matthew, thanks for bringing this to our attention, before we can investigate this could I ask you to remove the photograph & then DM us more info regarding this, so we can best assist you. Ross https://t.co/Qq2zhBAizh
— easyJet (@easyJet) August 6, 2019
In a follow-up tweet, easyJet assured passengers that despite what the photo may suggest, its main focus is safety.
“Be assured safety is our highest priority and passengers would have never been allowed to fly in these seats as they were inoperative. If the flight had been full then two passengers would have been offered an alternate flight as they would not have been permitted to travel in these seats,” tweeted the airline.
easyJet further clarified in a statement reported by Mashable that the woman was not “permitted” to sit in the seat as it was waiting for repairs.
So, we guess they’re chalking it up to one big mix-up? Or is this the new standard for no-frills flying?
