Face-To-Face Air Travel Layout Patented

A new patent by Zodiac Seats France shows the direction airplane seat manufacturers may be heading.

Industry supplied Zodiac Seats France has patented a new seating configuration that takes out the middle seat and replaces it with one that faces the rear.it’s called “economy class cabin hexagon” and basically puts your neighbor right in your face. But as we’ve noted before with other tinkers to seat dimension, that wiggle room (which tends on average to benefit men more than women) would likely come at the expense of slivers of an inch in other cherished areas, such as the cushion width and arm rest.

While a lack of legroom is generally the biggest bugbear for air travellers, the aim of this unconventional design is to “increase the space available at the shoulder and arm area”.

The monitors can be placed safely only inside the seat in front of you, so rendering that option unfeasible now that so many customers want better quality entertainment would be quite a blunder.

“With the high price of fuel and the ongoing demand of airline economics, they’ve been trying to squeeze as many people into the back of the plane as possible for years”, aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia told TODAY.com. The company claims the design is a more “simple, economic and efficient solution” than cylindrical aircraft, in which cabin pressure is regulated by heavy “sealed bottoms”. Such reviews become especially relevant when people buy their tickets online using dedicated websites.

The company also revealed a new kind of seat, which looks more like a saddle.