How to create a comfortable economy class for travellers

New designs and reasearch aim at more confortable seating for travellers in economy class

Airliners tread a fine line between comfort and squeezing in as many passengers as possible to be profitable. How can designers make them more comfortable for the average flyer?

Recent reports about luxury accommodations on airliners give the impression that modern passengers carriers are now so big that each of us can travel in supreme comfort and privacy. That is very far from the truth. The back of modern planes – economy class – is still jammed full with what feels like ever-closer, more uncomfortable seats, but new work by industrial designers at “Seymour Powell” in London aims to make the experience of turning right on entering a plane as painless as possible.

An example of the modern opulence is The Residence Cabin on Etihad Airways. They showcase what looks like very nice plane seats, but really reveal a personal flat-screen TV, a separate bedroom with full bed, personal butler and a private bathroom.

More futuristic concepts for economy class seats are being designed. It’s a challenging space but they aim to design an all fabric economy seat, with a mechanism that can adjust to the width and shape of individual passengers in real time.

The concept seat works by replacing the three traditional foam pads on the seats with a stretched fabric clamped down by the armrests and the upper dividers to form three individual hammock seats. Underneath has a frame and moveable formers that allow the seat’s shape to change. The seat back does not move into the knees of the person behind you. These features allow a slimmer seat for a child and wider seats for the adults. Or a couple travelling together can eliminate the middle seat all together.

by Adriana Rueda

Source: www.bbc.com