I think I’ll take the train.
Think your seat in coach is cramped? Take a look at the SkyRider. The new airplane seat, to be unveiled next week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach, would give passengers an experience akin to riding horseback.
They’d sit at an angle with no more than 23 inches between their perch and the seat in front of them — a design that could appeal to low-cost airlines that have floated the idea of offering passengers standing-room tickets on short flights.
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“For flights anywhere from one to possibly even up to three hours … this would be comfortable seating,” he says. “The seat … is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle.”The novel design may draw interest — especially from two overseas carriers that have entertained the idea of providing no seats at all.
Ryanair, the Irish low-cost carrier that has set trends such as charging for in-flight meals, has said it would let passengers stand during flights if the Irish Aviation Authority would allow it.
And there’s this from a few months ago…
This will be another “feature” the airlines WON’T tell you about, before paying for the seat. Because they know that if customers found out about it up front, they’d likely look for another carrier that still had roomier seating. And first class isn’t going to have this seating. And probably not business class, either. Just economy class, which won’t pass on the savings the ticket buyers. But to the major stockholders.
This seat design assume a certain waist size. Which ain’t gonna fly, with most americans being overweight. So likely the fatties will be seated in the back of these planes, where some normal seating still exists. You can’t tell from this picture. But likely the seats would slide forward to allow each row to get in or out. Maybe every fifth row would have a gap in front, to allow the other rows to slide forward or backward.
This would require stewards to attend at lot more, to get people in and out of seats, and for rest room calls. Asians are likely to put up with this kind of regimentation, than Americans and Europeans.
Why don’t they just make the passengers strap on a body harness, and hang them from hooks, like in a meat locker. Or maybe design seating like they use in amusement rides.
All this is being done to make short flights cost effective. Over high speed rail for the same distance, which could beat one hour flights, hands down, in cost and convenience. If the rail service existed.
No freaking way. That thing looks like an ergonomic disaster. Since you can’t get your legs in a position to take your weight, you will put too much stress on your pelvis, especially the sacroiliac joint. A pregnant woman would have major problems with this.
Actually, I suspect half the population would have a problem: men. Where am I going to park my junk?
#6 Trains good, planes bad, I totally agree with you, except that I live in the US, where the train system was dismantled years ago except in the northeast, and despite Obama’s efforts to jumpstart the rail system and get the US going again with both high speed and regular rail alternatives like Europe and the rest of the world has, we are told by the Republicans that we cannot afford it, no jobs would/will or have been created, we don’t need it, it’s an evil big government takeover plot, tramples our freedoms, is communist, Nazi-ist, socialist, anti-god/family/church-everything.
Meanwhile the rest of the planet enjoys high-speed rail, bullet trains, TGV, the whole shebang.
#23 – ggore
I think short haul high speed trains are a great idea. I just don’t think it makes sense for the federal government to put up the capital to built them.
Now I know what you’ll say, the DOT already subsidizes air travel. That’s true but no where near what you might think. Most airports are built and run by local governments and cities. They float bonds and lobby heavily for matching grants that may or may not come. In most cases they don’t, so they push out even more bonds.
Then, once the airport is built, they lease out gates to airlines. In most cases it can be very expensive (see above) and there’s usually nothing that holds an airline to stay in an airport (see Pittsburgh International and US Airways), especially if there’s a few regional airports nearby.
Once the airline leases a gate, they have to pay every time they land. Again, landing fees vary greatly, so if you like to fly Southwest, if the landing fee is too high, you won’t fly into that airport. This is one reason why flying into Las Vegas is so cheap: The casinos make sure the airport doesn’t raise fees too much.
If someone can make a train work without having to subsidize it, I’m all for it, and I’ll be the first to ride it. That’s impossible due to the highway subsidies, so let’s eliminate those too, and make every road a toll road. There are many toll roads in the US now, and they seem to be doing OK. If you’re worried about price gouging, let the states run them.
Well, in principle it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.
But it’s got some very obvious drawbacks. For example, how is a child going to sit in this seat? Stilts?
I’m 6′ 4 and already my head nearly hits the bottom of the overhead luggage. Are they going to have taller planes?
Clearly this idea has come from the more upright seating in some cars (although no saddles) and applied to planes WITH NO THOUGHT OR IMAGINATION.
It’s not a terrible idea, just a really stupid one.
Why not just put everybody in flat bunks and stack them four deep, how about that?
This looks more comfortable than the current coach seats, to me.
I often go in the bathroom just to stand up because the angle my legs make in the seats is so irritating. I’m only 5’7″.
OK, so what about…
1. People with hip problems.
2. People with back problems.
3. People with a leg or foot cast.
4. Children.
You don’t want to (or can’t) sit in the cattle car then you’ll just have to buy a seat in our newly expanded first class area!
It does appear that these seats won’t allow the clown in front of you to recline and shove their seat in your face and THAT is always a good thing!
The standard of living is falling when companies start treating passengers like live stock being sent to slaughter houses.
I vote to change the name of the company to cattle car airways.
Wow! They are REALLY trying to kill the airline industry.
Eventually, they’ll eliminate seats all together and make passengers fly recumbent or prone, in small tubes, stacked like cordwood, and of course unconscious.
This would give the highest passenger density per plane and eliminate the need for flight crews, in-flight services like meals, drinks or toilets, and security, since no one is going to be awake and/or able to move during the flight.
Planes could even be made up of sections of ‘cells’ so overbooking or underbooking would never be a problem. They could tailor the length of the plane to accomodate the actual usage, in 7 foot segments (within certain aerodynamic limits of course.)
I’m under forced retirement and disabled now. I got time now (and there’s really immersive telecommunications settings now,) so I’ll take the train thanks ou very much.
No more reverse cow girl for mile high club.
# 24 ReadyKilowatt ” make every road a toll road.” Just a reminder, ReadyK, every highway is already a toll road. You paid with your taxes to build it or to service the bonds that built it. You continue to pay to use it every time you buy a a bit of gasoline. The average state gasoline tax is around 27cents while the US Gov adds over 18 cents and then, in most states, you’ll pay a sales tax on the fuel, too! So, you’re paying around half a buck for each gallon in fees that are partly earmarked for paying for road construction and maintenance.
I work for an airline and can fly for almost free, if there is an empty seat on the overbooked flight. So I drove from Chicago to Atlanta last week. 10 hours longer then flying, but far more enjoyable.
Just say no to airlines and plan a few extra days to drive if you can manage it, and do not stay in Hilton hotels.
And I still don’t see a hole to allow fart gas to get out cleanly.
# 33 N.M.O. “And I still don’t see a hole to allow fart gas to get out cleanly.”
In a way, this is a blessing. I have a recurring nightmare about a water landing and using the seat cushion as a flotation device. Can you imagine floating to your death with the smell of a million stale farts in your face?
People who use saddles a lot, will generally have them tailored for their posteria, something which is unlikely to happen in the budget seating range.
34-thats the point. If the gas can’t escape the cushion gets it.
For a short flight, why not. I can go to a festival and walk around for 3+ hours, so I don’t see why sitting in this thing would be an issue. I travel because of where I am going, not how I am getting there.
“The seat … is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle.”
Yeah, after they get used to it. After a few months.
#37: Air travel is currently the worst way to get anywhere in any way other than time. I am 5’11″ and 200 some odd pounds. My shoulders stick out 4 inches on both sides of the seats. I beg every time I get a flight for an aisle seat so I’m not hunched over the entire flight between a wall and some fat guy, or worse, two fat guys, just so I’m not crushed in shoulder to shoulder. You wait for the plane to board. You wait to take off. You have to sit for hours (and I’ve flown to both Germany and the Middle East from the states on short stop flights) and keep yourself entertained.
If I could afford my own plane, I’d fly that myself instead of dealing with the nightmare that is modern air travel.
Where are the fat people going to sit? Which makes up about half of America? Maybe they will end up in the cargo area? Maybe the airlines should just have standing only and just hold onto a bar like the subway.
I bet turbulence would become very interesting then.
Take a good look at the person in the picture and tell me the number of horse riders you’ve ever —EVER— seen in this posture. Then tell me how long it took them to develop serious back problems.
“Akin to horseback” is a 100 reading on the bullshit meter.