January 12, 2009

Airline seating innovations bound to change the future

Jacob Innovations LLC, a Boston area based firm, has designed a number of new seating modules for airlines. These innovations, currently under review by airlines and manufacturers, may change the future of airline seating as we know it.Â The new designs use a system of steps as the core basis to the innovation in order to provide access for passengers to levels higher than the floor of the aircraft.

Long awaited comfort for Economy Class passengers may be on the horizons at affordable prices by simply elevating every other seat by approximately seven inches. Business Class seating is also bound to take advantage of the same concept providing greater comfort while accommodating an increased number of passengers in a given space.

The Economy Comfort concept provides cost-effective reclining accommodations that capture the value of unused vertical space. Every alternate seat is elevated by no more than the height of a conventional step, providing a significant improvement to economy class (due to an increase in the angle of recline available to passengers) without affecting passenger density. One way to look at the concept is to imagine the added leg room if the seat of the passenger in front of you was raised by seven inches. Alternatively the raised seat has more space to recline as it does not go directly into the face of the passenger behind it but slightly above.

The passenger experience is superior to economy, in that it allows reclining at about 45Â°.
Together with the added foot rest it makes sleep much more possible than in conventional economy. This concept would bring increased revenue as airlines can charge a premium for added comfort without requiring additional space. The airline could continue with the exact same number of economy seats while loading times would be about the same. The seat shell would also allow passengers to recline without encroaching on passengers behind. The seat pan can be folded vertically to allow easy access.

The Economy Comfort modules can accommodate the same number of passengers as conventional economy class while improving reclining which is one of the most sought-after feature for long haul flights.

One of the effects of the global economy is the need for a larger number of people to fly frequently. As most companies do not pay for business class travel this puts a great deal of strain on health and productivity. Given the affordability of the new seating it will provide many employers with the incentive to pay for improved accommodations for their traveling employees. The 45 degree recline together with the footrest make the difference between the ability to sleep or not for most people, thus an employee will not need to waste time needed to recover from a sleepless long flight.
The next models are designed to improve the comfort and the density (passengers per given surface) in Business Class. A number of designs have been developed by Jacob Innovations, LLC with variations need to fulfill the requirements by various airlines for the length of the bed while adapted to specific type of aircraft.

By elevating every other seat new space is created providing legroom for passenger at the lower seat as well as reclining for the passenger in the higher seat.

The next model uses a different concept than elevating every other seat. Instead it uses a set of lateral steps for passengers to access a second tier. While the Lateral Steps model requires additional investment in structural developments it provides access to more vertical space:
In addition to the potential of doubling the seats in conventional business class, the Lateral Steps model brings a number of valuable benefits currently not available in business class such as greater privacy and space for sizable suitcases on board. Business travelers can save precious time by not having to check in and pick up their luggage. In addition this model provides new comfort for travel with a baby.

Given the limited width of even the largest aircraft the length of the beds in the above model is shorter than a conventional flat-bed business class. In order to accommodate for longer beds required by various airlines Jacob Innovations LLC has designed the following model which combines the two concepts:

Alternate Elevated Seats and Lateral Steps.
At a greater cost in terms of passenger density there are longer beds as well as greater view of the windows.

Another adaptation combining the two concepts was developed to accommodate for spaces with limited height in an aircraft such as the upper deck of a Boeing 747. In this case due to the height limitations the second tier passenger is seated laterally to main level passenger, thus requiring less height.

A number of additional adaptations have been developed by Jacob Innovations such as hybrid usage. A folding system allows various modules to be switched between economy seating and business seating. This would provide greater flexibility for airlines. A folding mechanism will allow the crew to switch the module to economy or business seating depending on how many of each are booked.

An exciting future is on the horizons for the airline industry and the possibility of a good night sleep on that long flight for many economy class passengers.