Ryanair is at the centre of a ‘wild’ Simpsons conspiracy on social media in the wake of the Air India crash that that killed all but one of the 242 passengers onboard.
The doomed Gatwick-bound Air India flight AI-171, which had been carrying 53 British nationals, crashed just moments after take-off on Thursday, 12 June.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged into buildings in the densely populated Meghani area of Ahmedabad, India, just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST).
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, from Leicester, miraculously survived the disaster that saw all the other passengers perish in the fireball explosion. His seat, 11A, was near the Boeing’s left engine.
Eerily, exactly one month before the crash occurred, Ryanair posted a tongue-in-cheek video to its TikTok account poking fun at its infamous 11A seat.
The budget airline’s 11A on Boeing 737-800 aircraft is notorious for being sold as a window seat – without an actual window.
This has become a common joke and source of frustration for passengers who book this seat expecting a view – and though Ryanair acknowledges the matter, it maintains it ‘sells seats, not windows.’
No stranger to stirring up attention on social media platforms, the Irish low-cost carrier posted a lighthearted ‘Expectation versus Reality’ clip about its 11A seats on 12 May.
Ryanair is at the centre of a ‘wild’ Simpsons conspiracy on social media in the wake of the Air India crash that that killed all but one of the 242 passengers onboard
The doomed Gatwick-bound Air India flight AI-171, which had also been carrying 53 British nationals, crashed just moments after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, 12 June
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh (right), 40, from Leicester, miraculously survived the disaster that saw all the other passengers perish in the fireball explosion. His seat, 11A, was near the Boeing’s left engine
It highlighted the passenger’s ‘expectation’ of having a bird’s eye view from the window seat, and the ‘reality’ of realising they don’t have a window once they sit down. In an accompanying caption, Ryanair added: ‘Better luck next time.’
The video, which was posted along with a similar clip on the same day, is unrelated to the Air India crash which occurred exactly a month later – but social media users have other thoughts.
Hundreds of viewers called out the airline for its ‘unacceptable’ timing, while others called the upload date a coincidence – and some even compared it to a Simpsons-style prediction of future events.
One person wrote, ‘This puts me off flying Ryanair…. absolutely unacceptable,’ while another commented, ‘Is this a little bit too soon to be putting this out??’
A third added, ‘F*** I thought they’d just made this and thought, that’s a bit far, even for Ryanair.’
However, one person observed, ‘The fact that this was posted over a month ago is wild,’ while another noted, ‘What the actual fffffff , Ryanair is the new Simpsons.’
A third commented, ‘Okay but is nobody gonna talk about how that survivor was in seat 11A, or was this some mad coincidence?
A fourth questioned, ‘Umm 11A??? Anyone gonna talk about the guy who just survived the air India plane crash was in seat 11A??,’ while another viewer added, ‘Wow timings is crazy.’
No stranger to stirring up attention on social media platforms, the Irish low-cost carrier posted a lighthearted “Expectation versus Reality” clip about its 11A seats on 12 May
It highlighted the passenger’s ‘expectation’ of having a bird’s eye view from the window seat, and the ‘reality’ of realising they don’t have a window once they sit down. In an accompanying caption, Ryanair added: ‘Better luck next time’
Hundreds of viewers called out the airline for its ‘unacceptable’ timing, while others called the upload date a coincidence
It comes as Ryanair introduces a £500 fine for certain types of ‘unacceptable’ behaviour on its flights.
Passengers who disrupt Ryanair flights could now face a hefty fine after the airline announced plans for a ‘major clampdown’ on ‘unruly behaviour‘.
Tourists who have to be taken off planes – delaying the journeys of their fellow flyers – will face a £500 fine, the airline has announced.
Europe’s largest carrier, which takes thousands of revellers to resorts and cities across Europe and beyond every year, said it would now come down on hard on those who stop other passengers enjoying a stress-free flight.
