Though most airline manufacturers and insiders have scoffed at the idea of “standing room” seats on jets, someone has come up with an airplane chair that is simultaneously more feasible and more uncomfortable. Meet the crotch-crushing SkyRider!
The creation of Italian design company Aviointeriors, the SkyRider is set to be shown off at next week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in California.
Here’s how the designer describes the seat:
For flights anywhere from one to possibly even up to three hours … this would be comfortable seating… The seat … is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle.
Yes, maybe professional cowboys and horse riders don’t mind being on a saddle all day. That doesn’t mean your average business traveler wants that huge bump pressing into their precious parts for several hours. One turbulent flight and we’re all asking for ice packs…
While Aviointeriors says several airlines have already expressed interest in the seats, an FAA spokesman is skeptical such a seat could work out in the real world:
While it’s not impossible, it’s difficult to conceive of a standing seat that would be able to meet all applicable FAA requirements and still be cost-effective.
How cheap would your ticket need to be to get you to saddle up on the SkyRider for a 3-hour flight? How about a 6-hour flight?
SkyRider airline seats pack fliers into 23 inches of space [USA Today]
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she’s having a good time, maybe the chairs vibrate
You know she’s got to be thinking “Haha! I got BOTH of the arm rests, suckers.”
I was thinking, her thoughts are: “This is a joke, right?”
If they did, I’d pay MORE to fly! ; )
Hurm, thought I recognized that look. Always leave ‘em satisfied…
As for me riding one of those things: Hells and No.
Quick wonder: How much longer will it be before some entrepreneur resurrects TWA and goes for “deluxe” flying, complete with full meals and chicks in hot tight skirts…?
nevah.
I would rather ride a real horse to my destination.
What if the upright tray was a horses head?
I would expect some mob enforcer to wrap piano wire around my neck.
You know, this is just paving the way to vertical pods where you are frozen at the beginning of your flight, then thawed out at your arrival.
I might be OK with that. At least it would be quiet.
if you are freezing and thawing, why would they need to be vertical, couldn’t they just stack us up like cordwood?
You aren’t supposed to say that… the plan is ruined!
That would eliminate my flight anxiety. Therefore, I approve.
You wont age as fast either… I think?!
I’d approve of that. I’d get some nice rest.
That’s basically what it is like. Can you imagine even shifting your weight in one of those? You can’t so much as lift one foot. You can’t shift your hips. You can’t turn to rest your head. They are made to hold you in ONE position, just ONE single position, for the duration of your time aboard.
the arthritis in my hip is flaring up just thinking about not being able to shift around easily. ugh
If it was good enough for the victims of Xenu, it’s good enough for me!
(No, not really.)
Remind me not to book travel with you to your next destination if there is a volcano anywhere near the place.
If I get cryosleep on flights, that might be enough to overpower my burning, undying hatred for every single person that has anything whatsoever to do with the TSA enough to allow me to fly.
Honestly, for long-haul flights, I think that would be awesome.
+1 for Doctorow reference.
I would probably not even accept a free flight in one of those monstrosities. In my internal calculus, the value of time and comfort are much higher than that of money or effort.
That said, fuck these guys in the face for even coming up with such a horrible idea.
i’m a cheap student so i wouldn’t mind my flights home as standing only for a discount.
This^. I wouldn’t even fly for free on this plane, no matter how short the flight.
Cowboys might sit in the saddle for hours, but 2 things…
a) They work up to being able to sit for hours in the saddle, they aren’t just dropped into the saddle from outer space, and expected to sit there all day, and
b) a saddle is much more comfortable than this thing looks.
I think they are going in the wrong direction. Set it up so people lay down flat on padded bunks with pillows. You could stack em like cordwood.
Problem with that is people fucking on the plane, and that’s not allowed. Duh.
Well, since we no longer have smoking and non-smoking sections, maybe there should be a fucking and a non-fucking section.
Top bunk: $50 extra
Nope. Take the same rules as an opium den: BOTTOM bunk has a higher price. Shorter distance to the ground if you fall out.
Or strap people in horizontal pods in the terminal, and load the horizontal pod directly into the side of the plane.
I wonder at what point space stops being the limiting factor, and weight takes on heightened significance.
Lets say a 747 can take around 100 tons of people. At around 175 pounds per person (average american 2007) that’s around 1142 people. At around 0.5 cubic meters per person, that takes around 600 cubic meters. But the 747 has 876 cubic meters of “passenger interior volume”. Thus, it appears that once you pack 1142 people into a 747, you start to worry about weight.
What I don’t get is that these seats don’t really seem any better because your legs still stick out.
A 747-8 has an operating empty weight of around 237 tons and maximum take-off weight of 487 tons, according to wikipedia. This leaves about 250 tons for fuel and payload. 175 lbs seems a fair estimate for average body weight. If we assume everyone has about 10 lbs of clothing and 40 lbs of luggage, that’s about 225 lbs per passenger. (but since 747′s typically fly international routes, more luggage is probably usually there). Present seats weigh about 300 lbs. This would put the 467 passenger capacity at about 122 tons. Assuming we eliminate half the weight of the seats, that might push the capacity up to 650 people if enough floorspace could be found.
Weight is always of significance. On an aircraft the size of a 747, every 100 lbs of additional weight counts for something like $500,000-$1,000,000 over the course of a 30-40 year service life, mostly in fuel costs.
Now, that I would try!
I like the concept of laying down through a flight. But stacking people has the consequence of there being no orderly way to evacuate the plane (at least that can be conveyed in a brief safety speech).
All the bunks turn into emergency ejector pods?
It needs a butt plug.
Then you forgo seatbelts….
OUCH!
I’m imagining a $20 lube fee, so it’s feasible.
+1 – where the metaphor for airline travel becomes the reality.
Why not make bunks? I could be alot more comfortable lying down for an hour or two.
As much as I agree, I think its much more difficult to secure people from continued forward motion in case of sudden deceleration (the only reason there are seatbelts on planes, currently – well and to hold you down in case of turbulence)
It wouldn’t be comfy if you had to be strapped down, would it?
You still wear a seatbelt in lie-flat business/first class seats…
Though I will say, for some reason turbulence is a lot more uncomfortable when you’re lying down.
Good idea there. Set up bunks and use the straps hospitals use to keep mental patients secured in the gurneys. Apply a catheter for urine and an IV drip to keep people hydrated.
Then they can fire all of the flight attendants. In the case of emergency, they just jettison the cabin. Everyone will be pre-coffined.
No. Just no. She looks like she’s about to fall/slide out of the seat. It just looks painful.
Right? The look on her face is like “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I think only half of her butt is supported by the saddle and the rest of her is a partial squat. This is ridiculous.
your knees resting on the seat in front of yo prevent that. comfy right? I guess I’ll have to pay extra for coach.
Seriously what’s next? Can airlines get any more cheap? Next think you know they will be selling spot in cargo planes. Think Tom Hanks in Castaway.
The woman in the picture does look strangely happy to be sitting in that chair.
She’s happy because she knows that after the photoshoot she can get out of that damn seat and fly on a regular plane home.
OK, she is pretty skinny, and they don’t even show you her wedged into the narrow 2nd row, are they going to provide free lube to wedge the average American into that row?
Even at her height and skinny weight, she couldn’t fit in that second row.
I actually think standing seat can be a good idea for short flights. Three hours may be too much but I think one hour sounds right.
Don’t forget to factor in the 2+ hours stuck on the tarmac.
You beat me to it…
I will drive or take a boat anywhere rather than do this, seriously. We need to draw the line somewhere or soon they’re going to be stacking us.
She looks like she is having too much fun sitting there. Must have a built in sybian…
I’d buy that for a dollar.
Is the designer of this “seat” a woman by any chance? Maybe she has some repressed hatred towards men she needs to get out, or she has no fucking clue about male anatomy.
Oh silly women. Always trying to keep the men down.
Speaking of having no fucking clue: this seat is also really bad for female anatomy.
Yeah, because a woman would design a seat that would inevitably cause yeast infections. Are they handing out monistat at the end of the flight?
This is NOT an Onion article?
I’d have to see how comfortable this is to make a decision. The problem I would most likely have is that the seat isn’t deep enough for a comfortable fit. Meaning that it will constantly feel like you have to support your weight on your legs but you can’t actually stand up. Back pain and tired legs ahoy!
Also, just because they make the legroom requirements less, why do they feel that our arms get shorter too? I dislike those dinky armrests.
I have a saddle chair that I use for painting and drawing. My mother has one for quilting. Another artist I know has one for his studio as well. Saddle chairs can be quite comfortable if you’re willing to plunk down the cash for a good model.
That said, these would be pure torture. It took me a while to get used to long hours in my saddle chair and it has foot rungs for additional comfort. These look like roller coaster seats, which have probably rendered half the people who ride them sterile.
The main problem with these kinds of seats is the flexing that would occur. The safety of the seats comes in where, in the event of a ‘water landing’ or ‘crashing into the ground’, assuming the planes doesn’t explode, the seats have to be able to withstand the forces enough to stay intact and hopefully keep you alive. The frame of those seats look like they’re put together with spare parts from Ikea. They’d snap in half if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky, they’ll flex just enough to crush your ribacage on the seat in front of you on the way forward, then snap back to decapitate the person behind you.
The only way around this would be to also ceiling mount the seats. It would have to be bolted into the frame so you wouldn’t have any overhead space either.
The seat poles and legs remind me of the really cheap/throwaway/low weight limit you buy at Wal-mart et./al./ where the poles of the furniture screw together and sorta/kinda look like they are made of metal but are actually made of hard plastic and spray painted silver. I wouldn’t trust the durability or ability of those pieces of crap chairs to hold the average person. Its why chairs aren’t made of that hard plastic crap.
I’m sorta surprised no Chinese airline has jumped onto this bandwagon. Their trains are already roaming death traps. There are lots of Chinese people who’d pay cheaper fares for a seat like this
I was on an overnight train from shanghai to beijing a year ago. It was in fact much more comfortable than the ones in California, so I call BS on roaming death trap.
Isn’t there still a weight limit on planes. So we can pack in another couple rows of people but then we need to calculate in the weight of the extra passengers and there luggage.
Also these seats look very narrow, even sitting next to a person who is a size 4 I would still consider it to close for my comfort let alone if I get the luck of sitting next to (or between) any one who is, however slightly, overweight.
This.
Boeing slapped down Ryanair’s pseudo-serious venture in this direction by stating that there was no way that any of their aircraft would be rated to carry the weight of 50% more passengers and they’re luggage. The only way I could see it was to split the plane into 2 classes: super-premium, lay flat bed-seats and ultra-economy standing room only. So instead of 20 First, 60 Business, and 200 economy, you’d have 80 ultra-first class and 200 dismal economy…
1. She doesn’t look comfortable there & it appears she’s supporting her weight with her legs. That’s just not possible for any length of time.
2. There’s no seat cushion to use as a flotation device in case of a water landing.
3. Complete agreement that this particular seat is only suitable for women.
This thing is a non-starter!
Yes, and she’s wearing high heels, so presumably her feet don’t even touch the ground. That’s what I’m wondering about: how does this work for kids/short people?
Your answer: It wouldn’t work for short people at all. Just think how terrible it would be for a short man. By the end of the flight his scrotum would be necrotic from lack of blood perfusion. Their claim that cowboys can be in the saddle all day doesn’t apply to that product; saddles don’t have that narrow hump in the middle. No fracking thanks.
It’s not suitable for women, either. Pressure on the vulva and urethra can lead to irritation and infections. Girls and women used to get bladder infections and vaginal infections all the time in the 80s from wearing those jeans that were so tight you needed a pair of pliers to get the zipper fastened.
How do they handle ‘passengers of size’ with these things? Or will overweight people not be allowed to fly anymore?
My take is that they would eventually phase out flying larger people.
They can fit 2 smaller (or normal) seats in what would most likely require a larger and possibly modified bigger person seat.
More chairs = more fares!
The problem with these seats is that I can’t see them being viable for younger kids… too young to be held by the mother but not tall enough to fit properly in the seat and be properly secured. in a chair, it doesn’t matter at all how tall you are, but once you start lining people up by standing is that the restraint would be around a young kids neck and not their waist.
If the price was right then maybe I would. Boston to NYC or even Philly could actually work.
I don’t see this as a solution for fat people.
More importantly, how does your sexy violin get strapped in to one of those?
Because it doesn’t fit in the over head compartment and you were forced to buy the seat next to you.
Even the model has a look of “Wait is this a joke?” on her face.
The base of the chair looks remarkably like a walker. Probably by design, because some passengers will surely need one to disembark.
Ummm, the flight could be free or they could pay me to fly and I still wouldn’t use those things. Cowboys don’t actually sit in the saddle the whole time – when the horse is moving, they’re using the stirrups to rise up a bit… So this isn’t really the same deal.
Simple solution – make the damn seats as big as first class. Charge more. Space them nicely. Treat customers with respect. When you lose their luggage – own up to it, and pay for it.
We’ll fly.
Another reason it’s not the same: how skinny would that horse be?
Last time I got on a horse, I sat with my legs spread quite a bit more than that. And, I didn’t slide forward to catch myself by the lady bits on the front of the saddle.
Last I checked, there are horses in Italy, so why do they somehow think “suspended by the crotch” is equal to riding in a saddle?
And, yeah, that woman looks like she is in pain. However, a reason she is “holding herself up by her legs” like most people pointed out *could* be due to her modeling and not the seat. Models never sit comfortably, they have to hold their bodies in ways that don’t cause any kind of “distortion”, including the fact that your legs squish out when you sit down. It’s probably still the fault of the seat, but there is more than one explanation for how she is holding her body.
Standard economy pitch is about 31-32″.
This is 23″!
No seatbelts?
I’d rather just have a padded box to curl up in – like a Tokyo micro-tel.
Turbulence……..ooooowwwwwwwwwww.
No! Don’t think “ow.” Think mechanical bull-ride simulator!
I actually don’t mind the seats. I am thin enough to fit, and I like to sit perfectly straight (which is hard to do in the typical airline seat). If I could get a discount by using this seat on short flights, I totally would do so.
It took an Italian design firm for me to learn that cowboys ride for up to 8 hours a day.
/sarcasm.
You know, every time people hear the words ‘Italian’ and ‘designer’ together, they automatically assume it’ll be posh, sophisticated, fancy, modern, all that jazz. Maybe they should stick to handbags….
This makes me want to cry. I’m never flying again.
How does this save them any room? The upper thighs still sit parallel to the floor, so the space between seats is still limited by the length of the thigh. I don’t see how this solves the problem of trying to fit more seats onto a plane.
If you look closely at the photo (especially the back row), it looks like your legs are supposed to fit UNDER the seat of the person in front of you. The model’s legs aren’t exactly horizontal, they’re angled, and the seat appears to be at the same angle, but higher.
So in addition to being horribly uncomfortable, you’ll now be getting a free “kick” massage from your fellow passengers, just like at the movies!
Do not want.
23 inches? Not in this country.
This lady is a model & look at how little space she has. Try getting a 250lb man or 200lb woman in there.
Good luck.
Even a normal sized person will be riding on their crotch the whole way. I like my boys too much to let them be squeezed by this torture device. I’m sure the same could be said about almost everyone.
Try again. This time make something people would actually fit in to or use.
P.S. Have you ever ridden a horse for 8 hours/6 hours/3 hours?
Saddle sore isn’t something that they just make up…
Anyone else notice that there’s virtually no room under the seat for a carry on bag…? Hmm…maybe this is also a way to limit carry ons.
Is the height of the seat adjustable??
If not, my short legs would not reach the ground in these seats…. which means my crotch would be supporting my body weight…..
ouch
Sure, “cowboys ride for eight hours in the saddle, without discomfort.
But it takes them weeks or MONTHS of spending eight hours a day in those saddles, before they do so “without discomfort”. Before then, spending TWO hours in a saddle will leave you in serious pain.
So, how cheap would the seat have to be? How about, “they’d have to pay ME their first-class VIP ticket rate, before I’d even consider it” …?
Actually just a few days of riding…your muscles will adjust. Its your thighs and gluteals that are stressed from riding due to the fact that non riders who go riding tense up and grip the saddle with their thighs. People who don’t ride are usually nervous and tense about riding to begin with. So hence…they get “saddle sore”
They remind me of highchairs… You know, could I just pay $40 more NOT to be tortured?
I’d seriously look into taking a train or driving myself.
This seat is nothing like a saddle! You straddle a saddle, you don’t ride with your legs up over the horse’s neck. (Yes, I realize this all sounds really dirty!) These are just glorified lumpy stools.
Short, tall, and fat people will all be screwed equally.
The people who designed this chair are assholes and should be shot.
How would this work for the folks who need an extra wide seat now (the American traveling public). Do they get an extra wide saddle to ride on? How about a pregnant passengers; belly support for them? Do we get cowboy hats for riding the airline saddle? Will there be stirrups?
What’s the Italian translation of Yee-haw?
It will be interesting when someone has to go to the bathroom. Or will bathrooms be a thing of the past?
I’d be okay with these seats as long as my newly-acquired Recliner-Stoppers still work.
Can someone please explain the purpose of the bump on the seat? Because I just don’t get it o-o Is it supposed to keep you from sliding off or something? Why can’t it be normal shaped?
I have ridden a horse both with and without a saddle. I’m female. My girly parts hurt SO much riding bareback on a horse with a bony spine similar to that hump, that I cannot even begin to imagine how much agony a guy would be in after several hours jammed against that thing.
My husband spent 10 days in the hospital with pulmonary blood clots caused by riding in a car long hours with his legs in one position. He nearly died. These seats don’t appear to give the ‘rider’ a way to stretch or move.
And current airline seating *does* allow on to stretch and move?
good luck bending down to get your laptop/ipad/insert gadget here, from your bag underneath the seat in front of you.
Glucose monitor/insulin shots, asthma inhaler, prescription medication, anaphylactic shock kit….
I love the look on her face… she’s like, “are you kidding me with this?”
Is this in the “adults only section”? That doesn’t look family friendly.
And I don’t want anybody else’s bodily fluids rubbing up against my girly bits. What’s the success rate for transferring STDs?
That woman does NOT look comfortable in that seat. IMHO, that thing is going to be a back killer.