U.S.-based airlines such as American, Delta, Southwest and Jetblue to name a few, do in fact have a Row 13 despite a resounding belief in western culture that the number implies bad luck. But travel superstition isn't simply earmarked for planes - hotels and buildings also bypass a 13th floor.

Many airlines around the world intentionally omit row number 13 from their cabin layouts due to triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number 13. This is particularly common among Western carriers such as Air France, Lufthansa, Ryanair, and United Airlines, who skip from row 12 directly to row 14 to avoid making superstitious passengers uncomfortable. The practice extends to other numbers in different cultures; for example, many Asian airlines like Cathay Pacific and China Eastern may skip row 4 (and sometimes 14) because the number 4 sounds like the word for "death" in several East Asian languages. Conversely, some airlines like Alaska Airlines or Southwest ignore these superstitions entirely and include row 13 as standard. In 2026, while modern aviation is based on rigorous science and engineering, these "missing" rows persist as a psychological courtesy to passengers, ensuring that a simple seat assignment doesn't cause unnecessary anxiety before takeoff for those who believe in bad omens.