A video about a passenger's "silly mishap" on a plane has sparked laughter and confusion among viewers on TikTok.
The clip was posted by Bianka Knowles (@bianka.knowles), 35, who lives in Whitby in the Canadian province of Ontario with her husband and daughter.
The footage shows the screen on the back of two passenger seats each displaying a different number and the letter C in the top left corner.
The video was taken on a work trip while flying on an Air Canada flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Toronto, Canada, on October 24. "It was late at night and I was returning from a work trip so I was pretty tired," Knowles told Newsweek.
She recalled: "I was glancing at my neighbor's screen showing 27C in the corner and noticed the screen for the person in front of his seat showed 26C. The screensaver was a bright nature scenery, so I had assumed it was the outdoor or the destination temperature."
In a note overlaid on the viral clip, Knowles wrote: "I didn't realize the temperature would be showing differently," before she realized that the number and letter referred to the passengers' seat location.
"When I finally realized what the numbers meant, I felt pretty ridiculous, but could only laugh at myself!" she said, adding: "I'm glad people found it amusing" in the comments.
The viral post comes as air travel continues to see strong growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
Total passenger demand in August rose by 8.6 percent, compared to the same month last year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported in October. The load factor—the percentage of available seats an airline sells on its flights—hit a record high of 86.2 percent in August.
Travel is forecast to also hit "record highs" this year, with global tourism spending projected to reach U.S. $2 trillion, according to Euromonitor International, the market research firm.
'Embarrassed'
Knowles told Newsweek: "My first thought glancing back and forth was immediate confusion as to why it would be showing differently. My second thought was—also tainted by my fatigue—that 'wow, it seemed to be a pretty warm temperature,' which was odd for that time of year. It had been warm the last few days but I was surprised given it was also evening hours."
Knowles loves posting funny content on her TikTok account, so she decided to share her "silly mishap," noting that "it definitely wouldn't have happened if I was in one of the first few rows—or wow, that would've been cold outside."
"I did not expect it to go so viral but I'm glad I'm not the only one who was initially confused," she said, noting that the comments in the post "are the funniest part."
TikTok users were amused by the misunderstanding, with several sympathizing with the passenger's initial confusion.
J said "this took me longer than it should have to realize" and @mishaiui0cq said: "It took me a second, not gonna lie."
User @champita32 said: "I'm embarrassed that i had to read the comments to know what you meant."
Paula Dolovski508 wrote: "For a second I thought you meant you let the 'air' out so that's why it's warmer. Than I realized it's just the seat number."
Papa50 noted "It's pretty cold at the front 1C" and @jerr.io said: "Just 3 seats away its below freezing in row F."
Widuri J said: "It's true. The AC is blowing from the front. That's why it's so freezing if you sat near the cockpit."
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