While airlines continue to streamline seats to fit in as many passengers as possible, one would be forgiven for thinking that passenger comfort is not at the forefront of plane manufacturers’ minds.
But a new collaboration between Airbus and British design agency LAYER may shatter that assumption. The result of this partnership is an innovative seat design that could revolutionise economy travel.
The seats feature smart textiles that record and transmit information from an app that monitors passengers to increase the comfort and improve their journey through smart functionality.
Designed for use in Airbus economy cabins on short to mid-haul flights, the new seating prototype (called Move) uses smart textiles woven into the seat fabric. Passengers can monitor and control seat temperature, pressure and movement with a smartphone app.
The seats can alert passengers when it’s time to move around and improve circulation. The app instructs flyers when and how to do in-seat stretches and even reminds them to drink more water. Seat modes also include ‘sleep’, ‘mealtime’ and ‘massage’ settings.
The smart fabric automatically adjusts the tension according to the passenger’s size and weight during the flight, accommodating all sorts of shapes, sizes and needs. The table tray can extend from half to full size according to passenger needs, and from a work surface to a leaning spot for a quick snooze.
The pockets for storing books, laptops and tablets even remind passengers to remove their items before landing.
“At LAYER, we believe good design should be accessible to all,” said Benjamin Hubert, the designer behind Move.
“All too often, new concepts for flying are focused on innovation in business class. We were excited to take on this project with Airbus to find ways to improve and add value to the economy class experience – for both the passenger and the airline.”
Read more at Lonely Planet
Would you like to see these seats on your next flight? Which airline do you feel has the most comfortable seats?
Related articles:
Is premium economy worth it?
Make economy feel like first class
Five flight survival tips
