Aircraft designers are always busy trying to figure out the best way to get the most passengers in without actually provoking revolt or suffocation…and the past few days bring fearsome news on that front.
Included in the roundup are dead-serious proposals to stack seats in the main cabin, to sell passenger space in the hold below the cabin, and even to squeeze business-class seats into a 12-across configuration. Not even the rich, it seems, are immune to the trend.
The stacked-seat idea comes from an independent inventor who claims that his vertical seating pods would allow more space, more recline, more footroom and more privacy. And from the looks of his proposal, possibly more claustrophobia. More details HERE.
The putting-passengers-in-the-hold idea comes from Zodiac, a well-known aircraft equipment maker. Taking a clue from proposals for windowless planes that would use screens to show either images of the outside or entertainment, Zodiac proposes windowless seats in unused cargo space. The low-ceilinged area would replace overhead bins with wall-mounted storage space and vending machines. More on that one HERE.
Boeing’s plan, not yet sold to any airlines, relies on tapering the seats so they are wider at the shoulders than at the feet, allowing them to fit closer together, and potentially allowing passengers a good sniff of their neighbor’s feet. Frequent Flier Crier editor Tim Winship asks: at what point is it not worth paying for business? More on that HERE.
