Your aviation questions, answered.
Before you hop on your next flight, here are 10 fun airplane facts that may surprise you.
Planes can get struck by lightningand it’s not a big deal.
View of the bottom of a plane in the sky.Credit: Russ Rohde/Getty Images
Ever fly close to the storm and worry about that flash outside your window?
Well, its just another day in the sky for pilots.
Commercial aircraft get zapped by lightningonce or twice a year, but passengers rarely notice when it happens.
Lighting striking near an airport.Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Modern aircraft are designed to let electrical charges run through without affecting critical systems inside.
In fact, lightning hasn’t brought down a commercial plane in the United States since 1967.
Private jets dodge turbulence better than commercial flights.
A private plane ready for boarding.milanvirijevic/Getty Images
Long-haul flights have secret crew bedrooms.
On 14-plus hour flights, flight attendants aren’t just powering through on coffee and willpower.
Many wide-body aircraft like the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner hide secret crew rest areas passengers never see.
Beds inside an airplane’s crew bedroom.Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Many airlines pretend row 13 doesn’t exist.
Margot Cavin/Travel + Leisure
Check the row numbers on your next flight.
You’ll likely see that the numbers jump from 12 to 14.
People sitting on a plane.Margot Cavin/Travel + Leisure
Like how hotels often skip the 13th floor, many airlines skip row 13 when numbering seats.
Planes can fly just fine with only one engine.
And if all engines fail?
Viewing two engines attached to a plane.Flightlevel80/Getty Images
Planes dont just drop from the sky.
Pilots have plenty of time during a descent from cruising altitude to find somewhere to land safely.
you’re free to still find ashtrays on planes.
An airplane bathroom.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Smoking has been prohibited on commercial flights since 2000, yet every airplane bathroom still has anashtray.
The FAA explicitly requires ashtrays in certain aircraft areas regardless of the airlines smoking policies.
Thats because aviation safety regulators recognize that some passengers might attempt to smoke during flights.
Close-up of the tiny hole in an airplane window.Margot Cavin/Travel + Leisure
That tiny hole in your window is actually super important.
Thetiny holein airplane windows is called a “bleed hole” and serves a crucial purpose.
Your in-flight meal may taste different up there.
A passenger eating a salad on a plane.Margot Cavin/Travel + Leisure
Its not just your imaginationfood tastes different at 35,000 feet.
The combination of low humidity and air pressure can alter the way you perceive taste.
“Humidity in the home is typically around 45 percent.
A flight attendant demonstrates how to use an oxygen mask.Jupiterimages/Getty Images
In an aircraft, it can be 20 percent or less, desensitizing taste buds.”
Those oxygen masks only give you 15 minutes of airbut that’s plenty.
While that may seem like a short amount of time, its more than enough for an emergency descent.
Pilots never eat the same meal.
Bubb says that its true that pilots on the same flight must eat different meals.
… the other pilot is obligated to eat a different meal in case there is any food poisoning."
