A new “saddle” seat, unveiled at a conference this week, increases the number of seats an Airline can have in its economy class. The design, named the “SkyRider," allows just 23 inches of legroom, which is about 7 inches less than the average seat's space of 30 inches. Shaped similar to a horse saddle, passengers sit at an angle, with their weight taken on by their legs. It allows seats to be overlapped. The seats would also offer storage space including a shelf for carry-on bags and hooks to hang a jacket or a handbag. The makers say the seat would allow budget Airlines to cram more passengers into their tight cabins. The seat, designed by Italian design firm Aviointeriors Group, based in Latina, was unveiled this week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach, California. But while the designers claim it does not affect passenger comfort, they say it would only be suitable for flights of up to 3 hours. "We feel extremely confident that this concept will have great appeal to airlines for economic purposes," the company's director general said. “For flights anywhere from 1 to possibly even up to 3 hours, this would be comfortable seating. The seat is like a saddle. Cowboys ride 8 hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle." The company added that the seat, which is in its final stage of testing, had been “designed and engineered to offer the possibility to even further reduce ticket prices while still maintaining sound profitability”. The company said that if a carrier committed to the new design, the company would apply for the proper certification. Aviointeriors said that everal Airlines had expressed interest although they did not name the carriers.
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