Anyone who says those seats are as comfortable as first class has never flown first class (I mean real first class, not Houston to Omaha first class.

Archie Goodwin: King Keepo: I always wondered why they didn't install mesh seats - that would give a couple of precious inches right there

Go for a ride on a C-130 Hercules or another Air Force plane with similar seating. You will understand very quickly.

I had to sit in mesh seats on a long helicopter ride. I thought my ass would fall off. That was very uncomfortable.

sorry but because these take up more room than traditiol seats...itll never fly in america.

/if they were concerned about your comfort everything would feel like first class
//but its not
///cause people prefer cheap tickets over a pleasant experience

More likely, they'll adopt the parts of the design that help minimize floorspace -- the mesh instead of padding, maybe an alternative for screen and table mounting -- and apply them to squeeze even more seats into economy. And then they'll shave another 5% off the existing space, because fark you, and by the way fares are going up 10% for our "new comfort seating".

A comfortable economy class is not in the interest of airlines. If economy is too comfortable, less people will pay for business class seats, and that's the profit is made.

Mesh seat - gets rid of the flotation aid cushion and can't easily be replaced as it is fixed to the frame - not happening

Personal Storage - reduces the size of total storage by adding all the unnecessary walls. - Not going to happen

Higher weight - aforementioned walls and all the additional mechanisms - not going to happen

Larger size - 16% less asses in seats - not going to happen

Upsell apps - hells yeah

Also it looks like he configured everything to fly in a plane with a square cross section, instead of a tube like every plane out there.

Great job kid!

ObeliskToucher: More likely that we'll see some sort of blended wing design in the future... this design has space for 500-800 passengers (and no need to worry about sitting with any claustrophobes).

[i260.photobucket.com image 450x550]

Problem being that they'll take a design for 800 and cram 1600 people into it just to make more profit.

/There is no winning.

Archie Goodwin: King Keepo: I always wondered why they didn't install mesh seats - that would give a couple of precious inches right there

Go for a ride on a C-130 Hercules or another Air Force plane with similar seating. You will understand very quickly.

Mesh like on nice office chairs instead of cargo straps really are an option... would also allow for spraying down with  chemicals, aerosols, etc, unlike current fabric. There'd be space benefits here, without comfort loss if they did it right.

But then there's also the issue of where to put your flotation device required by law, if it isn't your cushion.

Matthew Keene: I have vivid memories of flying from Frankfort, Germany to NYC. via Shannon, via Goose Bay in 1962 aboard a TWA Constellation. The seats were large and plush, plus I got to see the cockpit in action. Something like that wouldn't be allowed today. My next flight experience was in 1985 aboard a Piedmont 737 from Cincinnati to Denver. I realized how much air travel had come to resemble a flying Greyhound bus in the ensuing 23 years.

[www.aviationexplorer.com image 566x442]

You're comparing apples to oranges. I'm guessing that if you paid the equivalent $$$ of your 1962 flight in 1985 you could have had a nice seat up in first class to keep you away from the grotesque Greyhound bus types.

ObeliskToucher: (and no need to worry about sitting with any claustrophobes).

Some of those people would be sitting unacceptably far from a window.  You may have some freakouts.

FAA regulations require airline seats to stand up to something crazy, like 8Gs.  That's why you don't see mesh seats or thinner seat frames.  The airlines should lobby to reduce the seat safety standards to make more comfortable seats.  But even if they did, all the room it saved would just be packed with more seats and we'd be in the same situation.

Still think standing room only seats that were on an incline so most of your weight isn't on your feet would be feasible.  Take up less room and be cheaper.

came to post the This Island Earth photo..


//leaving beaten...

Clearly the airlines are redesigning travel for an alien invader species. 'Cause this shiat ain't for "people".

Hey! That explains Wal-Mart ....

Doubt mesh backs would work either. As it is now, padded seat backs cushion you from the knees of the person behind you. Or little kids who kick your seat. Imagine how that'd feel if the seats were mesh instead.

EngineerAU: Doubt mesh backs would work either. As it is now, padded seat backs cushion you from the knees of the person behind you. Or little kids who kick your seat. Imagine how that'd feel if the seats were mesh instead.

Easy, have two layers of mesh separated by about an inch and a half.  Make it tight enough that the little bastards can't hit your back.

Or kill them.

/Just kidding
//Mesh is expensive
///Also how can this not have devolved into the typical FARK "You don't have the right to recline your seat thread" yet??

Hell, just strap people onto pallets and slide them into horizontal racks.

You know, as long as we're bringing Star Trek technology to travel...

Why am I not surprised Dyson has his name attached to this?  Oh right, cause he has a hard-on for anything that values design over practicality, which enables him to attach a ridiculously high price tag because it looks different.  Plastic, flimsy, and shiatty, but different!

ObeliskToucher: More likely that we'll see some sort of blended wing design in the future... this design has space for 500-800 passengers (and no need to worry about sitting with any claustrophobes).

[i260.photobucket.com image 450x550]

The problem with BWBs are twofold. The main one is evacuation. It's very difficult to evacuate a BWB in an orderly manner within the strict constraints and deadlines required for safety. Also, BWBs would need a radical overhaul of airport infrastructure to accommodate their unique arrangements. And then there's the relatively minor issue that many passengers would hate the idea of sitting in what's essentially a claustrophobia-inducing, nausea-inducing low, wide room with no visual cues to match the motion your body is feeling for 90% of the aircraft's occupants.

Those, together, mean you won't be seeing BWBs in the near future. Decades from now, maybe, but honestly I doubt it. That evac issue is going to be a tough nut to crack.

The reality about flying conditions is that it has gone to the lowest common denominator because the public demanded it.  As long as people scour the internet looking for ways to save $5 on a flight, airlines will scour their process looking for ways to reduce ticket prices by $5.  If you want nice ass planes, then you would have to pay for them.  Most people won't.  You can always charter a jet.

Foxxinnia: I think they should have it so the rows face each other. One row looks to the aft of the plane, one row looks to the forward part of the plane. Bam. Twice as much leg room. Except you'll have to interlock your legs with a stranger. And you can't recline. And you'll have to look at someone right in the face the entire flight.

I was flown to Europe on a company Gulfstream once; some of the seats were set up like this. You always think 'oh, private jet, swank!' but I had to cock my (fairly long) legs around uncomfortably to avoid kicking the guy sitting across from me in the bits for eight hours.

The food was crap too, and they didn't have any booze aboard. Fairly cool to fly private like that, but damn, at least beer me...

The obvious answer is to put these in first class, so they put more people in the same space in first class.

it's always the reading person that gets RAPED