Hate flying due to cramped leg space that leads to awkward knee rubbing with co-passengers ?
Don’t cheer up because we’ve got bad news for you.
Introducing, the Skyrider 3.0 which is a ‘stand-up’ seat (yes, believe the irony) fashioned in the likeness of a medieval torture device. With upright backs and a seat similar to that of a bicycle, the passengers’ legs are supposed to hang over the sides. You also get years of back pain and a dose of solid embarrassment with your legs hanging in the air; all free of charge with your seat. The unique design of these seats won’t be doing your crotch any favours either.
The ‘stand-up’ seat has been in the offing since the past three decades. The first time the design was presented was in 2010 by Aviointeriors, where some structural issues hindered it from taking off. The second version was showcased in 2018 with a pole in place to keep the seat from bouncing around. The latest design which was proposed in this year’s Paris Air Show doesn’t even have a pole. You’d think passengers at least deserved a pole for their money.
These vicious Skyriders are being designed to enable airlines to cram in more passengers into airplanes and dub it as ‘ultra-economy’ for ‘budget-conscious flyers’. The Skyrider 3.0 takes up less space compared to economy seats, 23 inches instead of the usual 31 inches ceded to us.
Here’s what Gaetano Perugini, engineering adviser at Aviointeriors had to say to a leading travel portal –
“The message is, we do not want to put thousands of people in the cabin, we want to offer a multi-class configuration, which is nowadays impossible if you want to reach the maximum load of passengers.
So that means that in the same cabin, you will have standard economy, premium economy or business class and ultra-basic economy — which is an innovation for the airline and the passenger.
This is the true reason for the Skyrider.”
The indignation has been pouring in from all corners of the world.
Thankfully, none of the airlines have opted for these seats yet.
Would you book one of these seats? Tell us in the comments below!
Got travel tales of your own to share? Write them here!