Airplane seat design would take middle seat experience to new lows

Under the details of the patent, Zodiac Seats France, which makes accessories for aircraft, would arranges passengers on a plane in a hexagon pattern with the middle seat facing backwards.

Samoa Air became the world’s first airline to charge passengers according to their weight rather than by the seat they purchase.

It says that as well as increasing cabin passenger density, passengers will also benefit from shoulder space.

“If you’re traveling with your kid or spouse, being face-to-face can be nice”, writes Jordan Golson at Wired. “Here, if you’re a human with peripheral vision, fat chance of that”.

You’d have to argue whether even the concept of a windowless plane will even be enough to distract you from the child staring back at you. The design would require passengers to sit in alternating front or rear facing seats.

At the Verge, Ross Miller calls the “evil” design a “truly nightmarish idea that lives somewhere between Saw and The Twilight Zone“, and he wonders what would happen during turbulence.

Airlines have been trying to squeeze every last inch of space out of a plane to maximize profits and now a French company has developed a new seating arrangement for economy class flyers that would at least give flyers a bit more space.