A new style of aeroplane seat has been designed to allow airlines to squash even more passengers onto their planes.
Known as the ‘Skyrider’ the seat was unveiled in America earlier this week and is designed to look like a riding saddle. Designers claim that the new shaped seat will not compromise on comfort yet will allow an increased number of seats in economy class sections of planes.
Passengers using the seats will sit at an angle with just 23 inches of legroom, compared to the usual seat pitch of around 30 inches.
The seats would also offer a shelf for a carry on bag and a hook to hang coats on.
Italian designers Aviointeriors hope the idea will appeal to budget airlines that will be keen to create space for more passengers. They are quick to stress that it will not affect passenger comfort but would only perhaps be suitable for flights of three hours or less.
Several airlines are reportedly interested in the new design although Dominique Menoud, director general of Aviointeriors would not be drawn on which ones. He commented, “We feel extremely confident that this concept will have great appeal to airlines for economic purposes” before continuing, “The seat is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle.”
Earlier this year, controversial Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary announced plans for standing room only on some of his flights. He proposed to remove the last ten rows of seats and replace them with fifteen rows of ‘vertical seats’ selling tickets for £5 each. Passenger would be held in place by a strap stretching over their shoulder, however the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne, Germany, stated that this idea was ‘highly unlikely’ to pass stringent safety approval.
They added that they had not received any application from any other airline or operator relating to stand up seats, and concluded that any such request was highly unlikely to be certified in the near future.
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