A Ryanair passenger was left baffled after booking seat 11A on a Boeing 737-800, only to discover the ‘window seat’ had no window – and the airline had a ‘sassy’ response
Ryanair had a “sassy” three word response to a customer who appeared to overlook the apparent “downside” of booking seat 11A aboard some of its aircrafts. Many travellers deliberately choose a window seat when flying so they can soak up the views while cruising at 35,000 feet.
For others, securing an aisle seat is a must, allowing them to move freely without disturbing those sitting alongside them. Most airlines provide a seat map to give passengers a clear picture of the aircraft layout when reserving their seats. However, on the majority of Ryanair‘s Boeing 737-800 aircrafts, there are two “window” seats that come with an unexpected catch.
The seats in question are 11A and 11F, and they’ve become notorious for either having no window at all, or offering a severely obstructed view owing to the positioning of the cabin air conditioning system.
Located in the middle section of the plane, they are widely regarded as “windowless”, despite being situated where a window would ordinarily be expected.
One passenger was surprised and bemused after reserving seat 11A, and filmed himself sitting in the spot, gesturing towards the blank wall of the plane to draw attention to the absent window.
In text overlaid on the footage, which was posted to TikTok, he wrote: “POV why didn’t Ryanair warn me about seat 11A”, which was also narrated by a computer-generated voice.
However, Ryanair responded with their own video, splicing together the passenger’s footage with a clip of one of their planes with oversized cartoon eyes digitally added to the front, giving the aircraft a comical face-like appearance. A voiceover accompanying the clip simply stated: “We did.”
The footage then displayed multiple screenshots of the information shown during the booking process for seat 11A, which clearly states: “This seat has no window”.
The narration concluded with Ryanair’s three words of “sassy” advice: “Take a nap”. In the caption, the airline joked: “entertain yourself idk [I don’t know]”.
In the comments section, TikTok users were quick to share their reactions. One person said: “One time I flew from Edinburgh to Dublin on Ryanair for $12 (£9). They could have no windows on the entire plane for that price.”
Another commented: “Ryanair is getting sassy. I love it.”
A third person agreed: “I kind of like a bit of sassiness from Ryanair.”
While a fourth added: “I’d happily sit there I’m not keen on the window.”
Established in 1985 by Irish aviation executive Christopher Ryan and Irish billionaire businessman and philanthropist Tony Ryan, the carrier was named in honour of its founders. Today, the airline operates a fleet of over 600 aircraft.
It runs 3,500 short-haul flights daily and serves approximately 230 airports across more than 40 countries throughout Europe, as well as in Türkiye, Jordan and Morocco. The budget Irish carrier has its headquarters in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.
Measured by annual international passenger numbers, fleet size and flight frequency, Ryanair stands as the world’s largest airline. By market capitalisation, it ranks as the second-biggest carrier globally behind Delta Air Lines.
The airline operates a fleet of 613 aircrafts, which includes 26 planes on lease.
Around 95% of Ryanair’s aircraft are single-aisle Boeing 737s. Boeing developed the 737-8-200 specifically for Ryanair to enable the carrier to transport more passengers while reducing the cost per traveller.
