Italian airline seat manufacturer Avioninteriors has come up with a design for an aeroplane seat that it says would make flights a lot cheaper.
But the seat might not look as what you imagine – normal economy seat. It comes with a catch: Passengers would literally have to stand up throughout the flight. Yes, a seat that needs you to stand. How does it even look?
Not a standard economy, but ultra-basic economy!
The concept for the plane seat, Skyrider 2.9 was originally introduced in April 2018. The latest design called Skyrider 3.0 was introduced this year during the Aircraft Interiors Expo AIX19.
The newer model includes black seats with yellow-paints-splatter detailing and no longer silver poles that separated the seats.
Avointeriors’ engineering designer, Gaetano Perugini said that Skyrider 3.0 would allow standard economy, premium economy or business class and ultra-basic economy sections to be located within a single cabin.
Low-cost tickets = uncomfortable seats?
The upright passenger position would allow airlines to install the seats at a reduced pitch. Which refers to the distance between a row of seats and the one in front of it. While it means less legroom for passengers, the Skyrider would still maintain adequate comfort for passengers.
The manufacturer feels that for a short-range trip (less than 90 minutes) seats are comfortable enough. The final version will be able to accommodate elderly people as well as children.
Is the world ready for this?
There has already been “great interest” in seating concept. But only time will tell if people are actually willing to stand up throughout a whole flight in exchange for a cheap ticket.
The concept’s not about cramming in as many passengers in as possible. The concept offers a multi-class configuration which is nowadays impossible if you want to reach the maximum load of passengers.
Usually, the only way for an airline to reach maximum capacity is outfitting their aircraft entirely with economy seats. The Skyrider 3.0 takes up way less space than the average economy seat – just 23 inches.
