The Future of Air Travel: Cabin Configuration Changes on Short Flights

The invention of the airplane has shrunk boundaries: the trip that once took days, weeks, or months, now takes only hours to complete making air travel the choice of many.

However, the events that developed in the last few years have caused air travel costs to increase, for both passengers and airlines, and percentages of traveling customers to decrease.

Realizing the need for a more efficient and inexpensive way to travel, Howard Guy, one of Design Q directors, and his team came up with a new interior design for flights lasting less than 90 minutes.

Based in the United Kingdom, Design Q is a team of "design consultants for aircraft interiors for both commercial cabin and seating design (such as Virgin Atlantic & Cathay Pacific) as well as VIPs private jets (Bombardier, Learjet and Global ABJ's)."

Guy explains: "The MAXCABIN idea came from our extensive knowledge of the commercial aircraft interiors coupled with working on a very unusual project with Kingsland Primary school in Stoke on Trent..."

While designing and implementing the interior of an aircraft to be transformed into a classroom, Guy realized that a similar design could benefit the airline industry as much as it benefited the school.

What does the "MAXICABIN" look like?

Imagine the empty interior of a commercial aircraft. Now add pull down seats which will face inward, along the sides of the cabin; in the middle of the compartment add two rows of similar seats with the back to each other and facing the seats placed along the walls.

These will be no frill seats. They will pull down when in use and be stored upright when empty. Basically, they will work like the seats flight attendants use on shorter flights.

The objective of this design is to maximize space and decrease operating costs for the airline industry as well as reducing travel cost for its passengers.

After further development of the design, the prototype for this new interior was presented this month, September 2009, "to gauge reaction from passengers, critics and airlines."

If the first reaction is to disregard the idea, consider the following points Guy presented during the press release:

Seating sideways is common on other types of transport, buses, trains and even VIP jets!
This is designed for Short travel times (90 mins max)
It allows faster and safer boarding and exit
It accommodates more passengers per aircraft
Seating system is simpler and lighter (less fuel needed!) and less cost to acquire for the operator/airline
This configuration is adopted by military currently in air travel
The proposal allows the potential of less cost per ticket than any current low cost carrier.

Now, an average of 1.9 millions passenger travel each day, of which about 1.6 millions are domestic passengers (http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2009/bts043_09/html/bts043_09.html).

Considering the aircraft's average speed of 500 mph, how many of these passengers traveling less than 750 miles are going to embrace this new cabin configuration?

If we take into account that the average commuting time is about 30 minutes and that many commuters spend this time aboard a subway, a bus, or a train this new seating arrangement should be welcomed rather easily.

There is also a cost savings consideration. Elmar Burchia, with Corriere della Sera - an Italian newspaper, gives actually an average savings percentage of 30% on the cost of the ticket (http://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_settembre_22/terza_classe_aerei_burchia_e5e51840-a74a-11de-84dd-00144f02aabc.shtml).

Naturally, there are drawbacks to this design.

Carry-on storage seems to be missing, therefore requiring the passengers to rethink items they are accustomed to bringing on board as they will most likely be holding them on their lap.
Reclining will no longer be an option.
This might not make a difference during a short 15 minutes flight, such as the Minneapolis, MN - Rochester, MN, but for those traveling on longer distances and used to recline during the flight, this might be viewed as a nuisance.
Less privacy.
Now facing forward all the fellow passengers on that half of the plane will be just a turn of a head away from each other. It will make it easier to engage in multiple conversations for a talker. It might be bothersome, for those working on last minute notes for a meeting.
These seats might not be as comfortable as the regular ones.
There will be no armrest and headrest to use; however, the seats do come with some padding.

How soon will this new design be implemented?

In his article, Burchia quoted Guy stating that there are companies already interested in this new idea. Among them, Irish Ryanair, who had been in negotiation with Boeing to modify its current aircrafts following a different design. The Asian market is also mentioned as having potential interest in the new plan. (http://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_settembre_22/terza_classe_aerei_burchia_e5e51840-a74a-11de-84dd-00144f02aabc.shtml)

How soon will the American market follow?

Perhaps, we are going to wait and see how this new design is accepted by those already working on it, before we take that step.

Or, perhaps, we will decide that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, and therefore keep things as they are.

Press release information was obtained directly from Howard Guy, Design Q Director.