There are so many types of people that you wouldn't want to be sitting next to on a nine-hour flight.
There’s the overweight space-hogger, the snorer, the toilet addict and of course, the screaming child.
In fact, you’re not even guaranteed to have an enjoyable flight if you’re sitting next to the pilot.
But what if your plane neighbour was… robot? Oh yes.
The world’s first ever robot passenger took to the skies earlier today, boarding a Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt.
“Athena” (for that is her name), is a full-sized humanoid and was sporting a fetching pair of red baseball boots along with a white T-shirt.
She didn't seem to be wearing any trousers though, which we’re pretty sure would prevent any of us from being allowed on a plane.
Don't be mistaken for thinking that Athena will be living a charmed, jet-setting life though.
She has been bought by Germany's Max Planck Society, with the aim of getting her to perform tasks too dangerous for humans, such as clean up after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan.
Obviously she wasn't able to go through the metal detector before boarding the plane, but she was subjected to an electronic pat-down, according to a spokesperson for the airport.
Once she was on board and strapped in, Athena was switched off for the duration of the flight.
Which definitely makes her the perfect person* to sit next to on a long haul flight.
(*humanoid)
