What are the first words that come to mind when you hear “airline seat”? Claustrophobic? Tiny? No legroom? Have you ever wondered what the airline seat of the future will be? While there are some comfy and dreamy concepts, there are also some interesting ones, with many carriers looking to cram more people into a single aircraft. Today we will look at some of these concepts.
Pure Skies Seat
One of the rather subtle changes to seat design in the future is the “Pure Skies” seat. The seat, created by British design firm PriestmanGoode, is designed for safety onboard aircraft during the current and future pandemics. The seat comes in two designs: Pure Skies Zone, for Economy Class and Pure Skies Room, for Business Class.
The Pure Skies Zone will feature a regular seating pattern and will feature photochromic and thermochromic inks together with UVC to eliminate the Coronavirus. It, too, will have a full-length divider staggered between seats and clip-on tray tables that will be served with the meal as tray tables are the dirtiest part of an airplane. Seat pockets and In-Flight Entertainment Screens will also be removed.
The Pure Skies Rooms will have a personal overhead locker, privacy curtains and personal wardrobe. It will also have a large TV screen for entertainment and have the latest technologies to reduce passenger anxiety and many more!
Zephyr Seat
The Zephyr Seat is a rather comfy and interesting concept. The seat is built for Economy Class, though has lie-flat functionality for long-haul flights. Now, you may be thinking: Why would airlines want to implement this seat? Won’t they lose money by selling more lucrative Premium Economy, Business and First class seats?
Actually, the Zephyr seat takes up the same space as a normal airplane seat and fits around the same amount of passengers meaning no economical loss for the carrier, whilst improving passenger comfort and experience – a much sought after goal in the competitive long-haul market.
Skyrider 2.0
The final seat for today is the Skyrider 2.0 and can be epitomised as every passenger’s nightmare. Economy Class is already restricted from lie-flat beds, and this design takes things a step further with a stand-flat design, to take up less cabin floor-space. If the Skyrider 2.0 concept, comes to reality, instead of sitting down, passengers have to lean against their seats, similar to bus stop seating!
The Skyrider only benefits the airline and definitely not the passengers’ comfort. The airline will be able to squeeze in more passengers as the leaning seats require less space. Airlines like Ryanair have already expressed an interest in this kind of seating arrangement.
So, do you think these seats will see the light of day? Let us know your thoughts below – and would you fly on a Skyrider cabin plane?
