Could these seats revolutionise economy travel? Photo / Supplied
Space - the final frontier in making economy flight comfortable.
The lack thereof causes plane seats to feel like a challenge to negotiate. No matter how you lean and prop yourself up on the chair, finding a comfortable way to sleep is a graceless process.
Then there's only one thing more awkward than waking up slumped on the shoulder of a stranger; it's having a stranger fall asleep on you.
However, one aerospace upholstery company has come up with a solution they are calling "Interspace".
Unveiled overnight at the new London-based company Universal Movement, the seats allow passengers to rotate and lean up on a padded surface. The cushioned separators are designed to provide "greater lateral support" while keeping you from spilling into your neighbour's seat.
Theses "wings" can be deployed individually. You can create a comfy capsule for families, or put up to support the sleeping styles of different sized passengers.
They are designed to fold away into the chair when not in use.
The company which is a spin-off of New Territory said of its chairs: "The product has been developed with the knowledge that aircraft cabins have traditionally failed to look beyond seat pitch (the space between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front of it) as the primary determinant of comfort."
The concept was inspired by passengers' natural tendency to lean up against plane windows, makeshift pillows or – occasionally – other passengers.
Luke Miles, the founder of the company and Chief Creative Officer told the Daily Mail that:
"Universal Movement and Interspace have been borne from the fact that not enough time, thought and resources have been invested into the back of the aircraft cabin.
"We believe that comfort, good posture and wellbeing is a human right irrespective of financial status or social class. If you consider the psychology of the cabin, its linear, grid-like form is restrictive and as a result, seats have been designed for what is essentially an unnatural posture and seating position. The time has come to seek designs, products and services which tackle this subject head-on, creating affordable solutions for those businesses who share the same values and desires.
"For this reason, we wanted to break the mould with this first product, which is the first of many to come from Universal Movement."
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