AIR SMILES
New plane cabin design to revolutionise air travel by giving unpopular middle seat more room and arm rests
A NEW aeroplane cabin design could have solved the problem of the middle seat, making it three inches wider.
America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved a staggered seating system dubbed the “S1” after it was in development for five years.
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One US airline, which has not been revealed, has already ordered it and intends to install it on 50 of their aeroplanes by the end of 2020.
In the new design the middle seat is slotted a few inches behind and below its neighbours.
The layout means it gets an extra three inches of width and proper access to the armrests on either side.
The middle seat is now 21inches wide compared to 18inches for the other two.
The Denver-based airline interiors firm Molon Labe Designs came up with the new layout.
Founder Hank Scott told : “Our main sales tool is to ship seats to airlines so they can sit in them.
“I have watched this several times – airline executives see the seat, nod their head and then say they get it.
“Then we ask them to actually sit down, next to a big fella. Within a few seconds they [really] get it – they stop being an airline executive and switch into passenger modes.”
The new design though doesn’t “steal width” from the seats either side of it.
STAGGERED SEATING
Scott added: “If you’re in the aisle or window seat, you couldn’t possibly steal the entire armrest – your elbows would be behind your back at a weird angle.”
In addition to the changes to the middle seat, the aisle seat comes with an optional “side-slip” function, allowing the seat to move sideways, temporarily allowing more aisle space.
Executive vice president Thomas Conrady told : “This sliding motion doubles the aisle width during boarding, which reduces the time it takes by between 20 and 30 per cent, thus reducing stress for passengers, cost for airlines and emissions on the ground for everyone.”
He added: “Once a passenger comes to the seat, it can be easily pulled out, locks itself into place and is ready to be sit upon.
“It can even slide with the passenger sitting on it.
“Obviously, the aisle at that point returns to its normal width (if both seats are moved), but until the very last passenger has boarded, there is still the benefit of the wider aisle.”
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Initially the new seating will only serve short- to medium haul flights and anyone flying on a British airline will have to wait until it is approved in the UK.
But an S2 version, designed for long-haul cabins is under development.
Although not finalised this design comes with more padding, a recline function and an entertainment screen measuring 15.6inches, the biggest in the business.
The design is in stark contrast to the “stand up” plane seat known as the Skyrider 3.0 which was debuted at the Paris Air Show in June this year.
The latest version of the seat has a bike-style saddle that sits higher than a traditional airline seat.
The Skyrider 3.0, designed by Aviointeriors, takes up much less space than the average economy seat — just 23 inches compared to 31 inches on most other airlines.
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The idea is that airlines could cram in more of these seats and still allow other passengers to book other kinds of tickets on the same flight.
The company hopes to increase passenger numbers by 20%, however standing seats have not been approved by aviation authorities just yet.
It is unclear whether the seat would meet government safety standards for emergencies.
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