'Cheek splitter': Flyers baffled by strange plane seat design

Flying economy isn't ever going to be overly comfortable.

But when a recent plane passenger shared a photo of the seat next to him, 'uncomfy' got a whole new meaning.

"I've been on a lot of planes around the world, but this was a first," the passenger wrote, when posting the photo of the seat to Reddit.

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The flyer was on an "older" Boeing 738, operated by Japan Airlines, and upon sitting down, found the seat next to him to have this strange divider down the middle.

"Would anyone know the reason for this," he wrote, "I'm a bit perplexed."

Commenters were quick to crack jokes, with one person dubbing this seating option the "Cheek Splitter 9000".

"It's to keep the homeless pilots from occupying the cockpit," another said, referencing the 'anti-homeless' benches that some cities install in their parks.

"If you can last an entire 13 hr flight, you get the flight for free," one commenter joked.

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Looking at a zoomed-in photo of the seat divider, you can see "do not sit here" is stitched into the seat.

It turns out that this divider is actually Japan Airlines' way of ensuring no one sits in the seat - a more effective deterrent than a simple sign.

Aviation experts in the Reddit thread pointed a number of reasons why the seat could be out of action.

One said that it is probably in the front row of economy. It is blocked off because "if someone sat in that seat, their legs would block the aisle during boarding and potentially during an emergency as well."

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Another option is that it is in a row of three that has only two seats in front of it. The seat would be out of use because there's no seat in front of it to be used as a brace in case of emergency.

One commenter who works in aircraft maintenance wrote: "Believe it or not, that seat is designed to be empty. Usually those seats serve two purposes, weight/balance and for easier access to emergency equipment."

So, rest assured, this torturous-looking seat cushion isn't set to become the future of airline seats – just a way to keep people safe in the air.

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