Why Croatia Airlines’ Airbus A220s have an unbookable seat

Croatia Airlines recently has been working on modernising its fleet, with plans to replace all existing aircraft with the Airbus A220-300.

The airline is investing approximately €500 million in this process, which is the largest project in its 35-year history.

The first new Airbus A220-300 was welcomed into the fleet in August. Croatia Airlines expects to receive additional A220s in the coming years, and a total of 15 aircraft, including 13 A220-300s, by 2027.

However, there’s an interesting detail that some passengers have noticed about the new A220s – one seat in the last row is not available for booking.

The Mystery of Seat 31E

At first glance, the Airbus A220-300 might seem to have 31 rows of five seats each, offering a total of 155 seats. But a closer look reveals something unusual.

The aircraft doesn’t have a row 13, as this number is considered unlucky in many cultures, and more puzzling is the unbookable seat in the last row – 31E.

As Simple Flying reported, a recent passenger on a Croatia Airlines flight shared their confusion on social media after being seated near row 31.

The seat in question, 31E, was clearly marked with a sign saying “Do not occupy this seat,” and it had no seatbelt.

This raised questions about why this particular seat was unavailable.

The Real Reason Behind 31E’s Restrictions

While many passengers initially assumed that the absence of a seatbelt was the sole reason 31E couldn’t be used, the truth is a bit more complex.

Aviation experts, including the team at AvioRadar, uncovered that the restriction is due to the aircraft’s occupancy limit.

The Airbus A220-300 is designed with a specific safety configuration, featuring just one overwing exit on each side of the aircraft.

This limits the total number of passengers that can be safely seated to 149, including crew members. If the aircraft were to carry 150 passengers, it would require additional overwing exits to comply with safety regulations.

Airbus interior (Photo credit: Damir Fabijanić/Croatia Airlines)

Here’s how the seating is arranged on the Airbus A220-300:

• Rows 1 to 30 (excluding row 13): Five seats per row

• Row 31: Four seats

• Total seats: 149

(Croatia Airlines)

This configuration ensures that the aircraft’s capacity does not exceed the limits set by its design.

So, while it may seem strange that an aircraft has an unbookable seat, the reasoning behind it is rooted in the plane’s design and safety regulations.