New Plane Seating Design Sits Passengers Face to Face

A new airplane seating figuration would have economy class passengers facing each other. But will it fly?

Zodiac Seats France filed a patent for the “Economy Class Cabin Hexagon,” which consists of alternate forward and backward facing seats instead of traditional rows.

Jonathan Hunt reported on “Your World” that Zodiac Seats France’s patent application states that the aim of the unconventional seating arrangement is “to increase cabin density while also creating units that increase the space available at the shoulder and arm area by creating an overlap in the shoulder areas of adjacent seats.”

“You can now engage in disturbing staring contests with complete strangers, instead of, or perhaps on top of, fighting them for leg space and armrest space,” Hunt remarked. “If you’re facing a slightly larger individual, there’s a pretty good chance the only place for your arms and hands to rest would be on thighs of the facing stranger.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”