The future of air travel, as with all other forms of travel, is uncertain. To avoid the spread of a virus as contagious as COVID-19, small enclosed spaces are a major concern.
Many designers have come up with concepts that might be useful for airplanes, such as seat dividers. Some airplanes offer the option for travellers to buy an empty seat next to them, but both of these measures seem wasteful of space.
The stacked format of the seats utilizes all available space.
Now, Zephyr Aerospace has come up with a design that could be a solution to airlines’ concerns. Founder and CEO Jeffrey O’Neill says that it as much an improvement in privacy, space and comfort as it is viable for health and safety.
‘We believe that new types of travelers will require privacy or will want to pay extra for that as much as they would pay for the ability to sleep,’ he told CNN. ‘Why is it so difficult to find an affordable way to lie flat on a flight that’s 19 hours?’
The idea behind the concept is to utilise all available space, including the open space between standard seats and overhead compartments.
‘We basically retrofitted a whole other seat on top of another,’ explains O’Neill. ‘So it’s essentially two levels, it’s not as tall off the ground as people might imagine, it’s only four and a half feet off the ground from the entry point to the lower seat to the upper seat.’
💺[NEW] : Une configuration alliant confort & distanciation en classe éco ?
🔸La startup @zephyrseat propose une répartition des sièges sur 2 niveaux
🔸Ceci permettrait le passage d’une config 2-4-2 à 1-2-1
🔸La certification reste à obtenirUne idée plutôt pour l’eco+ 🤔 pic.twitter.com/nRNWW25Rjj
— Aero Gazette ✈️ (@AeroGazette) June 15, 2020
The idea is still only in its first phases, and could take a few more years before it becomes a reality.
Image credit: Twitter/MarshaCollier
