I think I’ll take the train.
Think your seat in coach is cramped? Take a look at the SkyRider. The new airplane seat, to be unveiled next week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach, would give passengers an experience akin to riding horseback.
They’d sit at an angle with no more than 23 inches between their perch and the seat in front of them — a design that could appeal to low-cost airlines that have floated the idea of offering passengers standing-room tickets on short flights.
[…]
“For flights anywhere from one to possibly even up to three hours … this would be comfortable seating,” he says. “The seat … is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle.”The novel design may draw interest — especially from two overseas carriers that have entertained the idea of providing no seats at all.
Ryanair, the Irish low-cost carrier that has set trends such as charging for in-flight meals, has said it would let passengers stand during flights if the Irish Aviation Authority would allow it.
And there’s this from a few months ago…
Two things.. 1) Aeroflot used to be like this already (or so it seemed). 2) How do people get out in an emergency?
It is almost as if the airline industry is doing everything it possibly can to alienate and piss off it’s customers.
Why don’t they just shoot their customers in the head, cremate their bodies and transport their ashes. It would save a bundle in fuel costs.
Oh, I know. They wouldn’t get repeat business.
the airline industry knows you have no other option if you want to get somewhere at the speed at which a plane goes.
if the tickets were say 25%-35% less than a “regular” seat, that I personally can’t fit comfortably i’m since I’m too tall… I’d go with one of these… sure..
Ironic that they say it is akin to the experience of a cowboy since the airline treats its customers like cattle.
If they put these in, then they can never travel into FAA territory – same goes for the ones with seats replacing toilets and food stations.
I am sure the airlines will love it, look how little room there is under the seat for baggage, or in my case my legs. Also, since the seats are taller you are going to have to severely reduce the height of the over head compartment if not outright remove them.
While it might be ‘comfortable’ to sit in a horse saddle for 8 hours, not only does that not look like any saddle I have seen, nor does it have stirrups that allow you to take up some of the load on your legs.
Also, with the increased height of the center of gravity and the narrow gap between seat legs you are going to have to totally reengineer the floor supports to handle the extra load, not to mention the ’emergency’ load.
Wow! No one has said it yet…..
Trains good. Planes Bad. Whoo Hoo!
Looks fine for the petite woman in the picture, but guess what, the vast majority of the passengers are not petite women.
Does the seat back turn into a boogie board in the event of a water landing?
#7 – you misunderstood, this is the premium section where you are surrounded by petite women for only a 50% premium on the ticket price.
And to those of us built more like cattle, this rather forces us to Amtrak. Actually that Family Bedroom option is looking pretty good now. It’s cheaper than a last-minute airline ticket and has a little ass room. If market forces were allowed to cause a few casualties in the industry, this shit would wash itself out naturally. But when the government defines everything including what profit levels can be, this stuff is the result. This is why China will fail in the end, btw.
Actually, we humans have already figured out how to cram as many people into a space as possible for cheap travel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_ship
Take a look at the accommodations on this ship! We must be approaching that level.
What about fat people?
Just got off a Lao Airlines flight (an ATR72 turboprop) where the seats were more conventional but just about as flimsy looking. I’m 6’3″ so you can imagine the leg room was insufficient. The lovely stew found me an empty row so I could sit a little crossways. BTW, they didn’t serve peanuts but they did hand out packets of mixed dried fruit chips. Mmmm.
But, on the topic, these seats look to me that they would keep you “on your toes” so to speak. (in fact, it appears to me the model is not comfortable but straining to stay in her seat!) This means no movement of the feet. Thus, even shorter flights might make some people more prone to deep vein thromboses. Especially if (as the model) you have to keep your knees slightly bent thereby impeding blood flow.
Also, my eyes may be deceiving me on this small screen but it appears that in addition to the ball-crushing pommel at the front, there may be an ass-crack ridge running the depth of the seat. This may impinge on Alcock’s canal (in frequent fliers, anyway) a condition well-known to cyclists that may result in impotence, infertility and/or loss of libido.
Sadly, I’m unable to follow the links but I see no provision for a table and I doubt there would be an entertainment screen in the seat back. No drinks? Nowhere to fill out customs forms?
By the way, I grew up in rural Arizona and rode horses from a very early age. I guarantee you after a few hours in the saddle, your butt hurts! This design is a big fail.
You just know the ticket price won’t actually be less than an economy class ticket is now. Instead, economy class will suddenly become 30% more expensive because of the comparatively luxurious accommodations.
Heck, you’ll probably have to pay extra for fuel surcharge because, gosh, with all those extra people on the plane it suddenly got heavier and that means we use more fuel.
#11 – WOW!! Now that’s efficiency!
F**K THAT! I’d simply never fly. This is getting crazy.
Ahhh, free enterprise. Gotta love it!
Why, we can justify anything by calling it the American Cowboy Way! Look at Reaganomics.
Trains good, Planes bad…Whoo Whoo
What makes you all think they won’t install these on trains?
If you look at the model in the picture, it looks like even she would not fit in the 2nd row of these seats. As a freakishly large person, this damn near gives me a panic attack just looking at it.
This will be another “feature” the airlines WON’T tell you about, before paying for the seat. Because they know that if customers found out about it up front, they’d likely look for another carrier that still had roomier seating. And first class isn’t going to have this seating. And probably not business class, either. Just economy class, which won’t pass on the savings the ticket buyers. But to the major stockholders.
This seat design assume a certain waist size. Which ain’t gonna fly, with most americans being overweight. So likely the fatties will be seated in the back of these planes, where some normal seating still exists. You can’t tell from this picture. But likely the seats would slide forward to allow each row to get in or out. Maybe every fifth row would have a gap in front, to allow the other rows to slide forward or backward.
This would require stewards to attend at lot more, to get people in and out of seats, and for rest room calls. Asians are likely to put up with this kind of regimentation, than Americans and Europeans.
Why don’t they just make the passengers strap on a body harness, and hang them from hooks, like in a meat locker. Or maybe design seating like they use in amusement rides.
All this is being done to make short flights cost effective. Over high speed rail for the same distance, which could beat one hour flights, hands down, in cost and convenience. If the rail service existed.
No freaking way. That thing looks like an ergonomic disaster. Since you can’t get your legs in a position to take your weight, you will put too much stress on your pelvis, especially the sacroiliac joint. A pregnant woman would have major problems with this.
Actually, I suspect half the population would have a problem: men. Where am I going to park my junk?
Well, in principle it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.
But it’s got some very obvious drawbacks. For example, how is a child going to sit in this seat? Stilts?
I’m 6′ 4 and already my head nearly hits the bottom of the overhead luggage. Are they going to have taller planes?
Clearly this idea has come from the more upright seating in some cars (although no saddles) and applied to planes WITH NO THOUGHT OR IMAGINATION.
It’s not a terrible idea, just a really stupid one.
Why not just put everybody in flat bunks and stack them four deep, how about that? 🙂
This looks more comfortable than the current coach seats, to me.
I often go in the bathroom just to stand up because the angle my legs make in the seats is so irritating. I’m only 5’7″.
OK, so what about…
1. People with hip problems.
2. People with back problems.
3. People with a leg or foot cast.
4. Children.
You don’t want to (or can’t) sit in the cattle car then you’ll just have to buy a seat in our newly expanded first class area!
It does appear that these seats won’t allow the clown in front of you to recline and shove their seat in your face and THAT is always a good thing!
The standard of living is falling when companies start treating passengers like live stock being sent to slaughter houses.
I vote to change the name of the company to cattle car airways.
Wow! They are REALLY trying to kill the airline industry.
Eventually, they’ll eliminate seats all together and make passengers fly recumbent or prone, in small tubes, stacked like cordwood, and of course unconscious.
This would give the highest passenger density per plane and eliminate the need for flight crews, in-flight services like meals, drinks or toilets, and security, since no one is going to be awake and/or able to move during the flight.
Planes could even be made up of sections of ‘cells’ so overbooking or underbooking would never be a problem. They could tailor the length of the plane to accomodate the actual usage, in 7 foot segments (within certain aerodynamic limits of course.)
I’m under forced retirement and disabled now. I got time now (and there’s really immersive telecommunications settings now,) so I’ll take the train thanks ou very much.
No more reverse cow girl for mile high club.
🙂
# 24 ReadyKilowatt ” make every road a toll road.” Just a reminder, ReadyK, every highway is already a toll road. You paid with your taxes to build it or to service the bonds that built it. You continue to pay to use it every time you buy a a bit of gasoline. The average state gasoline tax is around 27cents while the US Gov adds over 18 cents and then, in most states, you’ll pay a sales tax on the fuel, too! So, you’re paying around half a buck for each gallon in fees that are partly earmarked for paying for road construction and maintenance.
I work for an airline and can fly for almost free, if there is an empty seat on the overbooked flight. So I drove from Chicago to Atlanta last week. 10 hours longer then flying, but far more enjoyable.
Just say no to airlines and plan a few extra days to drive if you can manage it, and do not stay in Hilton hotels.