Are You Ready for a “Horse Saddle” Commercial Flight Seat?October 01, 2010
 Aviointeriors, an Italian aircraft seat maker, showcased its new “stand-up” airplane seat at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas trade show in Long Beach, Calif. The company said the SkyRider seat would create a new basic class of seating on commercial flights. While most coach seats have 31 to 32 inches of pitch—the length from a particular point on one seat to the exact same spot in the seat ahead—this seat would have a pitch of 23 inches or less, according to a New York Times article. Some discount airlines have seats with 28 inches of pitch. The seats are marketed for flights that are two hours or less, but Dominique Menoud, the director general of Aviointeriors, said they are designed for flights as long as four hours. So what exactly is the SkyRider seat? First of all, it looks a bit like the seat portion of a horse saddle. According to the Times reporter on the scene, “it’s a tight fit. You sidle in and perch on a little pitched seat… Even in a semi-standing position, belted in against a tall seat back, you have scant room to maneuver your arms, front or side.” The company’s literature notes that the “passenger’s body,” assumes “a comfortable, dynamic, upright and healthy position.” The reporter, however, noted that it was “more like being strapped tightly into an amusement park thrill ride.” Aviointeriors is marketing the seat as a way for airlines to use limited space profitably. By installing more SkyRider seats that take less space, it could expand its higher revenue generating premium-class seats. A Boeing 737, for example, could be configured with 16 business class seats, 66 standard coach seats and 98 SkyRiders, Aviointeriors told the Times. “The concept is to allow for an extra class of seating” with very low fares, Menoud said. While shorter flights are the main market, he said, Aviointeriors thinks the stand-up seats can find passenger acceptance on flights up to four hours—if the fare is low enough. The company says it has extensively tested the SkyRider and that it will be able to meet all regulatory safety standards, according to the Times. But before the seat makes its way onto airplanes, it still has to pass several safety concerns, the main one being evacuations of a greater number of passengers from even tighter spaces. The Times noted that experts in cabin interior engineering from Boeing and Airbus at the tradeshow were skeptical about its marketability but did not dismiss the idea completely. |
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