embpic1
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Airbus offers standing room 'seats'
Report: Airbus in discussion with Asian airlines to offer padded backboards to have flyers stand, increasing capacity of largest jet to 853 passengers.
April 25, 2006: 7:34 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Airlines are reportedly considering making sure their passengers, not just their tray tables, are in the upright and locked position.
Aircraft maker Airbus is in discussions with its customers about possibly having a standing room "seat" to fit even more passengers on its jets, according to a published report.
The New York Times reports that the European aircraft maker has quietly pitched the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none have agreed to it yet. The paper, quoting experts who have seen a proposal, reports that if the standing room option is used, passengers would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness.
"To call it a seat would be misleading," Volker Mellert, a physics professor at Oldenburg University in Germany, told the paper. Mellert has done research on airline seat comfort and has seen the design.
The standing room space would be only 25 inches front to back, instead of only 30 inches now for the thinnest seats on commercial jets. That would allow the new A380 double-decker jet that Airbus is in the process of introducing to hold up to 853 passengers, compared to about 500 passengers if they were given traditional seats, according to the paper.
If it was used, the standing room option would be used only on short-haul flights like an island-hopping route in Japan, according to the report.
Report: Airbus in discussion with Asian airlines to offer padded backboards to have flyers stand, increasing capacity of largest jet to 853 passengers.
April 25, 2006: 7:34 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Airlines are reportedly considering making sure their passengers, not just their tray tables, are in the upright and locked position.
Aircraft maker Airbus is in discussions with its customers about possibly having a standing room "seat" to fit even more passengers on its jets, according to a published report.
The New York Times reports that the European aircraft maker has quietly pitched the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none have agreed to it yet. The paper, quoting experts who have seen a proposal, reports that if the standing room option is used, passengers would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness.
"To call it a seat would be misleading," Volker Mellert, a physics professor at Oldenburg University in Germany, told the paper. Mellert has done research on airline seat comfort and has seen the design.
The standing room space would be only 25 inches front to back, instead of only 30 inches now for the thinnest seats on commercial jets. That would allow the new A380 double-decker jet that Airbus is in the process of introducing to hold up to 853 passengers, compared to about 500 passengers if they were given traditional seats, according to the paper.
If it was used, the standing room option would be used only on short-haul flights like an island-hopping route in Japan, according to the report.
