The seats, shown below, resemble bike saddles and are described in the application with the US Patent and Trademark Office as a “seating device comprising a forward-foldable backrest.” The application claims that the seats will “avoid providing an excessive unnecessary distance” between seats. According to Airbus, these seats are conceptual, and “many, if not most, of these concepts will never be developed, but in case the future of commercial aviation makes one of our patents relevant, our work is protected.”
Despite obvious issues with passenger comfort, the article notes that seating arrangements like this may have a future, as the success of discount airlines (e.g., Spirit Airlines) have shown that many passengers will give up comfort for a cheaper fare. However, attempts to cram more passengers into an airplane have often met opposition in safety regulators, such as a recent proposal by Ryanair to create standing-only tickets.
The article also mentioned other recent ideas by companies wishing to increase capacity on airplanes. These include “hammock” seats, seats that keep a passenger partially standing, and lofted seats.
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| Source: Google Patents, US20140159444 |
