Simple Geometry = More Seats In an Airline

New submitter innerpeace writes: New airline seat arrangement looks to increase passenger capacity. A patent application by Zodiac Seats France calls for a design that puts every other passenger in a row facing backward. That means that in a row of three fliers, the seat by the window and the seat by the aisle face toward the front of the plane while the middle seat faces toward the back. The design idea could fit up to 80 more passengers in a plane, depending on the current seat layout. Whatever downsides it has, if such a design is adopted, I hope it leads to a stronger adoption of a convention that those with window seats board first.

Comments

So will stacking us vertically

[gurps_npc]

It isn't about getting more seats in a plane, it's about doing so without making people uncomfortable.

This looks like it would work fine if everyone knew each other - but would suck if you had an annoying seat mate. Who wants to be forced to look at them - or have them look at you?

This design violates current social norms for personal space. As such I dislike it.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[Dunbal]

But do you dislike it enough to pony up for business/first class tickets? No? Then suffer, cattle.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[whoever57]

The one thing I don't get is that flights are constantly over weight, or at least that's their excuse for jacking up baggage fees, so how do they expect to handle the extra weight from 80 more people?

Where did you get that idea from? They jack up baggage fes because they can, no other reason.

Planes can also take more or less freight -- but freight doesn't pay a much as passengers, so they would prefer to make up the weight with passengers rather than freight.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[fyngyrz]

Come on. Modern air travel via coach is just about perfect.

For one-armed, one-legged people. Who have the patience of a saint with screaming babies. And the immune system of a god. And have deluded themselves that the TSA actually does something useful. And can go long intervals without actual food.

Perfect, like I said.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[ShanghaiBill]

But do you dislike it enough to pony up for business/first class tickets?

That is not the only alternative design. This above/below pod design fits in more seats while actually increasing personal space. Even economy seats would fully recline.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[Noah Haders]

airbus will beat them all with this patent: http://geekologie.com/2014/07/...

sex train ftw!

Re: So will stacking us vertically

[ZeroWaiteState]

Unfortunately, we will have to chain passengers to the oars. We regret any inconvenience.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[cahuenga]

Oh it's not so bad. Was once on a flight in Guatemala with one backward facing row.... staring at a mother breastfeeding her baby in turbulence all the way to Costa Rica. I'll never forget that flight.

Re:So will stacking us vertically

[OneArmedMan]

For one-armed, one-legged people.

Works OK for me. Not sure about everyone else tho.

I'm all for it

[Karmashock]

this means not sharing arm rests with people.

What I'd like even more though would be if the entire passanger compartment were just removed and added to planes like modules.

What kills the whole experience is the rush onto the plane and the rush off it.

If people actually wait in the seat they're going to depart from rather than at the gate... it means you don't have that silly rush.

They have to do that because whenever the plane isn't in the air it costs the airline money. They want it in the air immediately. Okay, so why not have the passengers board a compartment and then have that instantly swapped with the existing compartment. Thus the compartment and fill slowly as people arrive at the gate and debarking might be a less annoying experience because you could potentially just open all the exits on the plane to let everyone bypass the various people that block the aisle because they can't figure out how to get baggage out of an overhead.

The idea isn't original. Other people have suggested it and of course the planes would have to be designed around the concept. But it would make loading and unloading the plane a matter of two minutes or something which is less time than it takes to refuel the plane.

Re:I'm all for it

[ericloewe]

You clearly have no idea about airplane structural engineering, or you wouldn't even consider what you just suggested. The only realistic solution would require a massive weight increase and the added failure scenarios, which need to be carefully examined and worked around.
Furthermore, refueling an airplane does not take less than two minutes. That's the time you need just to plug in the fuel line.

Not to mention the absurd ground complexity. Airports would need several cabins per flight per aircraft model, plus room to store them, plus machinery to handle them...

Never, ever going to work.

It isn't about comfort

[BigSlowTarget]

It is about staying within safety guidelines mandating the speed of evacuation of aircraft. Beyond that it's about not violating social standards so much that too many fights break out (they're expensive). After that it's about stuffing the most people in with the final limit being not making too many of them so uncomfortable they are willing to pay more for a more expensive seat. There are finally concerns about the actual cost of manufacture of the seats. Southwest has had seats facing each other in exit rows for a long time.

No, it *IS* about getting more seats in a plane.

[Chas]

It isn't about getting more seats in a plane

Yeah. Yeah it is. This is why you have seating arrangements designed for the average hypermetabolic midget ectomorph who can exhale, suck it in and hold it for the duration of the flight.

And, if you happen to be a normal sized person or a non-ectomorph body type, or carrying any extra weight at all, said planes are sardine cans where you're expected to die of asphyxiation.

And that's BEFORE the person in front of you reclines their seat and crushes you.