Man who designed new double-decker plane seats forced to defend his creation

It's no secret that planes like to cram as many passengers onto a plane as possible.

After all, more passengers means more money.

But one man's space-saving seat design left people so divided, he was forced to defend his creation.

The double-decker design known as the Chaise Longue Economy Seat project was first revealed online back in 2022 and it's not what you'd expect.

While an AirBus A380 is big enough to have two floors, this concept is completely different.

The project would feature one seat placed on top of another on the plane.

The higher row of seats are placed above and are accessed by climbing up a couple of steps, a bit like a bunk bed.

Meanwhile, the lower seat sits behind and partially underneath this, with the passenger's legs going in the space underneath.

One man's double-decker plane seat design was met with backlash online, despite attracting commercial interest. (1OFF Media)

Initial reactions to the design were less than enthusiastic, with people piling on with everything from genuine safety concerns to the more prosaic, such as what if the person in the upper seat passed gas?

People took to Reddit share their thoughts on the unique seats.

One person wrote: "Imagine some crazy turbulence and your legs get snapped, or you have to get off the plane in a hurry. Seems incredibly dangerous."

And another bluntly suggested: "You could also fit more people into a jet by blending them into a fine slurry before boarding."

Nonetheless, the seating design's creator - Alejandro Núñez - was quick to come to its defence.

He said: "People can talk and they always hate innovation in some ways. Most of the times when they show you something new, everyone hates it at first, they’re scared of change.

People have questioned everything from the design's safety to what would happen if the person in the higher seat farted. (1OFF Media)

"But the more you show it, and the more you develop it, and the more they see it, the more they get used to it."

Grinding people down into accepting something through repeated exposure isn't quite the same as convincing them to like it, but you can't argue with commercial interest.

Airlines are indeed interested in the design, which has been called the 'Chaise Longue.'

The idea is that the seat would be in the centre aisle of larger aircraft, it would then be flanked by regular seating by the windows.

It's not the first time that airlines have got creative in their attempts to cram passengers onboard their planes.

Ryanair previously caused controversy after suggesting that it was open to the idea of introducing standing space on flights, with customers strapping in for take off and landing but standing for the rest of the flight.

For just £1 though, it did attract a lot of interest.

Topics: Travel, Plane Etiquette

Bec Oakes