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Has shrinkflation hit the friendly skies?
A KLM passenger was left flabbergasted after being assigned a seat so tiny he says it should have never been available to flyers.
The flyer, Mika H, who goes by @finnishmike on X, detailed his plight on the platform, claiming that it’s been months since the incident, but the airline has still not refunded him.
“Almost 8 months ago @KLM said they will reimburse my payment for this seat, which is not supposed to be on sale for passengers,” he fumed. “Since then, they’ve completely ignored me wont even reply back to emails anymore.”
According to the thread, Mika had paid extra to sit in exit row seat 30A, which KLM had allegedly advertised as having “extra legroom and a wider seat.”
So, Mika was understandably taken aback after getting assigned a miniature seat that he said was “30% smaller” than the middle spot in the same row.
Included was a photo of the downsized accommodation, which was noticeably thinner than its neighbors.
While the seat was admittedly only around $115, Mika said that it wasn’t about the money but the “principle.”
“Just common sense they should reimburse me back, shame,” the flyer fumed.
The Post reached out to KLM for comment.
Many viewers sympathized with Mika’s plight, with one dubbing it “shameful.”
“Never gonna fly,” said another.
“What is that? A seat for ants?” joked a third, referencing an immortal line from “Zoolander.”
However, many were less understanding.
“Whoa, you got a window, no one sitting on either side or in the middle, leg room and right next to the emergency door and your unhappy…?” said one critic.
Others accused Mika of using a weird camera perspective to make the seat seem more scrunched than it actually was.
Meanwhile, one pointed out that the sky chair was introduced for crew members traveling between cities.
Mika claimed that staff confirmed that it was never “supposed to be on sale for passengers.”
In a recent SkyTrax thread on airline seat quality, Travelers gave KLM accommodations a total of four out of 10 stars based on legroom, recline, width, aisle space and TV viewing.
One detractor, however, called it “‘by far the most uncomfortable seat I have ever experienced on a long-haul flight in economy class.”
KLM isn’t the only carrier in the hot seat over its chair adjustments.
Canadian carrier WestJet notably rolled out a fixed recline design in its new planes that prevents passengers from leaning their seats back unless they pay extra for premium seats.
The policy allows them to add one more row, making the seats cheaper but also allowing flyers much less space to stretch their legs.
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