A coming attraction from the airlines: a cramped cowboy seat
If you thought your airline seat was sardine-like now, wait for the future. The SkyRider may be coming.
The new seat is set at an angle with no more than 23 inches between a passenger’s seat and the one in front.
The new airplane seat would give passengers an experience akin to riding horseback.
“A design that could appeal to low-cost airlines that have floated the idea of offering passengers standing-room tickets on short flights,” said USA Today.
The SkyRider isn’t headed for an airplane cabin immediately.
But its designer, Aviointeriors, an aircraft seat design firm based in Latina, Italy, says several airlines, including some in the US have expressed interest.
"We feel extremely confident that this concept will … have great appeal to airlines for economic purposes," Dominique Menoud, director general of Aviointeriors Group, told the newspaper.
The SkyRider could be its own class of seating, like business or coach, Menoud says. Passengers would likely pay lower fares. But airlines could boost their profits because the narrowly spaced seats would allow them to squeeze more fliers on board.
"For flights anywhere from one to possibly even up to three hours … this would be comfortable seating," he said.
"The seat … is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle."
By Charles Kao
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