What We've Been Waiting For: Stand Up Airline Seats - My Family Travels

You better sit down for this news.

A standup seat has been introduced at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas 2010 underway in Long Beach, California.  Yes, they’ve done it. 

AvionInteriors, an aircraft interior design firm based in Latina, Italy unveiled a standup seat prototype, marketing their Skyrider as an “ultra high-density” seat that takes less floorspace on aircraft than conventional seating. Noted in a report from Travel Weekly — American carriers are very interested.

According to AvionInteriors’ press statement, “We are proposing a 23-inch pitch or less; the “SkyRider”.  The SkyRider has been designed and engineered to offer the possibility to even further reduce ticket prices while still maintaining sound profitability, which, even with a dual or three class seating arrangement, will allow maximum certified passenger capacity of the aircraft.”

In other words, to get the most revenue per flight, AvionInteriors urges aircraft manufacturers that, “With a much reduced seat pitch, the SkyRider preserves a comfortable position for the low fare passengers.”

They continue on this train (or should we say plane?) of thought:  “The SkyRider is intended as a new basic class. The passenger’s seating position is similar to that of a touring motor-scooter rider. This posture permits that the overall longitudinal space occupied by the seat with the seated passenger is far less than that of a conventional, very high-density 28” economy class seat.”

“Furthermore, in the SkyRider arrangement, a partial overlapping of the passengers seating between rows is allowed, thus further increasing the cabin density.”

Low fare passengers will be happy to know that there’s a fold up shelf for that one very tiny carry-on that they will be allowed.

Our bets are on Ryanair and Spirit Air to bring these to market.  Now, who’s going to book it first?

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