Air New Zealand's Head of Aircraft Programmes Kerry Reeves discusses the new A321 NEO aircraft. / Video by Jason Oxenham
This has to be the worst seat on the plane.
It lacks the breathing space of the aisle seat and doesn't have a place to rest your head like we get next to the window.
Those who sit there are often robbed of both armrests from their greedy seatmates and whenever nature calls, they have the double horror of having people clamber over them, as well as having to be the person who does that to others.
We're talking about the middle seat, the most miserable of seats, which is without a single perk of its own.
But one airline has found a sure-fire way to sell seats on some new routes — by ditching the middle seat altogether.
Brazil's largest airline Gol is launching non-stop flights from Brazil to the United States on its new Boeing 737s next month, news.com.au reports.
Most 737s have three seats on either side of the aisle.
But to make the long flights more appealing to passengers, on its 737s for the Brazil-US routes, Gol will ditch the middle seats in premium economy, replacing them with a table that can be shared by the passengers on either side, the airline's chief financial officer Richard Lark told CNBC.
As well giving passengers a nifty table, the new configuration also allows more distance between them — a rare and precious gift in air travel.
The new Boeing 737 Max 8 jets will fly from Fortaleza in Brazil's northeast and from the capital Brasilia to Miami and Orlando in Florida.
Passengers who opt for premium economy will also enjoy 86.4cm of leg room, compared to 78.7cm in standard economy.
Everyone dreads the middle seat. Photo / Getty Images
Gol hopes the modifications will tempt passengers into paying slightly more for premium economy tickets, and help it offset the rising price of jet fuel.
And it seems to be the latest example of airlines finally addressing the things long-suffering passengers complain most about.
Last year, Air New Zealand revealed a new economy middle seat design at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg to be introduced on the airline's Airbus A320/A321neo fleet.
The design featured a slightly wider middle seat, offering increased comfort for those assigned to one.
Air New Zealand General Manager Customer Experience Anita Hawthorne says the design of the new seat was customer-led - and hoped the move would lead to an increased .
"The slightly wider middle seat helps balance out the fact that window and aisle seat customers enjoy a greater sense of space," she said.
"We currently have many customers who state a preference for window or aisle seats and it's possible the new design may see the middle seat get a boost in popularity."
Air New Zealand head of aircraft programmes Kerry Reeves in the new seats of the A321neo. Photo / Jason Oxenham.
When Qantas unveiled its new premium economy seats on the Dreamliner planes flying non-stop to London last year, the seats appeared to fix a great gripe of the skies: reclining seats.
The seats were designed to roll back, down and under, instead of the backrest flinging suddenly backwards in the face of the person behind, allowing for more personal space.
The difference was in the pivots: most seats used just one, but those seats used two.
Qantas also made the middle seats slightly wider — by a considerable 7.6cm — to give middle-sitters a much-needed perk.
Other airlines, such as British Airways, Allegiant Air, Ryanair and Norwegian have made moves to scrap traditional reclining seats altogether.
British Airways said in January it would phase out the recline function on economy seats on short-haul flights, opting instead to preset the seats at an angle with a "gentle recline" that wouldn't encroach on the leg room of the person behind.
And in a wildly controversial move that horrified parents and delighted everyone else, Indian airline IndiGo announced it was introducing child-free cabins.
The budget carrier introduced a kid-free "quiet zone" policy in premium economy in 2016, and while it was welcomed by many passengers, it set off a wildfire of debate on social media.
