Unusual Plane Seats Shock Internet: 'New Fear Unlocked'

Video footage of a very unconventional plane seat setup has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was posted by Chicago-based TikTok user Megan Homme (@meganhomme) and had 1.4 million views at the time of writing.

A message overlaid on the video read: "I've never seen this on a flight before...seats facing each other?" The footage shows passengers sitting in a couple of seats placed directly opposite two other seats.

In a later comment, the poster revealed the plane was operated by "a regional airline in Sweden," without naming the carrier.

While it might seem unusual, rear-facing seats have been used by some airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, who tweeted an image of the carrier's throwback rear-facing seats in 2021.

Backward-facing seats have been offered in business class for some airlines, such as United, American Airlines and British Airways.

Seats facing each other aren't uncommon on trains, where they appear to be more of a popular preference for kids than adults. A study of the metro rail system in Washington, D.C., published online in 2011 in the American Journal of Public Health, found that "only 25 percent of adults faced rearward, compared to 66 percent of children."

The study said: "Since children appear willing to face rearward, rear-facing seating in school buses and other vehicles might be acceptable to them and provide safety benefits as well."

Why Do Some Planes Have Rear-Facing Seats?

A caption shared with the latest viral TikTok post simply asked: "Why."

One reason may be that backward-facing seats can offer better usage of space on a plane, allowing the airline to accommodate more passengers.

Rear-facing seats may also be safer for passengers. Richard Snyder, a retired research scientist who studied crash protection and transportation safety at the University of Michigan, told the Smithsonian magazine in October 2009 that "the basis for providing aft-facing seating impact crash protection is substantial and supported by over half a century of experience."

According to the Smithsonian, an article in the December 1952 edition of Naval Aviation News explained that "passengers in Navy transport planes have ten-fold better chances of coming out of crashes alive, thanks to backward-facing seats," which were being installed on their new planes at the time.

The 1952 article said the Navy decided to install these seats after "testing showed they gave passengers much more protection for the entire back, neck, head and parts of the arms and legs in sudden stoppages."

So, why aren't more airlines using rear-facing seats on their aircraft?

Airlines are likely to be hesitant because backward-facing seats ultimately cost more money.

"In a crash, these seats will take more strain from the passenger than the more common forward-facing seats and thus need more support from the floor below," Dan Boland, an Airbus A350 pilot, told Reader's Digest in May 2022. He explained that this "in turn adds more weight to the aircraft, and more weight always burns more fuel."

'New Fear Unlocked'

The latest video has sparked debate among users on TikTok, with many objecting to the use of rear-facing seats.

Several users, such as sara and Nikos_TokTik🇬🇷🇸🇪, simply wrote "new fear unlocked."

In a comment that got 49,300 likes, user ChrisDoesNotCare: "Absolutely not. Full refund."

User emmyylouiseee wrote "This is my worst nightmare," while user604692 noted "I'd get crazy motion sickness."

Others seemed not as averse to the idea.

User @xosnowchild02 said: "i think that would be kinda fun."

WillyG noted: "Honestly for group travel I reckon it would be absolutely lit."

User @leila_jet agreed, saying: "Only good if you know the people."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok and email. This video has not been independently verified.

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