Ridin' High

[plumtreeblossom]

A newly designed airline saddle "seat" is debuting at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas Conference that crams fliers into a depth of only 23 inches.

These Skyrider perches, only marginally definable as a seat, would transport passengers with the majority of their weight supported by their crotches. For children and very short adults, make that all of their weight. They might be justifying that by the fact that no one with a BMI over 20 could wedge into the row anyway. They should call it Skyhumper. I don't see any seat belts. Maybe you don't need them. In hard turbulence you just faceplant into the seat in front of you.

I wouldn't be fool enough to think that these would create a cheaper class of ticket than coach class. I imagine these would take over current coach pricing. Then coach, with it's real, genuine seats, would become a new premium class.

See you on Amtrak.

Comments

Don't call it Skyhumper; you'll give them ideas

[spatch]

Don't worry. Why, the company assures us that we'll feel just fine in these seats (WHO THE HELL ARE THEY KIDDING MY KNEES ARE SCREAMING JUST LOOKING AT THE PICTURE):

"The seat ... is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle."

Someone obviously hasn't heard of the term "saddle sore" before, nor apparently do they understand why a funny bowlegged cowboy is bowlegged. And let's not forget the fact that cowboys ride constantly, spending months and years breaking in their cowboy butts, while the typical airline passenger just wants to get these four hours over with and disembark, with butt unbroken, in Columbus already.

The real difference though is that cowboys in the Oooold West were treated as potential criminals as soon as they entered town; airline passengers in today's Brave New World are treated as potential criminals as soon as they try to leave it.

But apparently none of this matters one bit to this company, which has gone and thunk up and greenlit and produced to the point of market entry yet another object which would be absolutely loved by those who profit from it and loathed by those who actually have to use it. This is one of those ideas only someone in Corporate could love, and I say that with openly unrepentant prejudice.

So let's all be good cowboys and cowgirls and ride our flying horsies eight hours to LAX! Yee-haw! Tell you what, row pardner. I'll race ya!

Re: Don't call it Skyhumper; you'll give them ideas

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

And it's love by the people in Corporate because those people can fly business class.

These saddles take buthurt to a whole new level.

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

Oh dear lord. Are they f-ing kidding? Spatch sums it up so nicely I won't add more.

And, yes, if I have a choice I'd much rather take the train.

[thesynergizer.livejournal.com]

omg what about children? you can't have a lap baby in a seat like that, and you can't affix a airline approved car seat to it either. i mean geez, there's no way my 4 year old could stay in one of those for more than 90 seconds ...

:-(

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Here's hoping that no one is so desperate to "get there" that they will allow their dignity to be insulted in this way -- and at air fare prices, too! Isn't flying uncomfortable enough with its inspections, its delays, its up-to-four-hours sitting still on the tarmac, its charges for luggage, etc.? Now this. What's next?

[heatherp8.livejournal.com]

you gotta be kiddin' me!
WTH?

[ron_newman]

I doubt that the FAA would ever approve this kind of seating.

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

You, sir, have much more faith in mankind than I do....

Love this!

[lisa lopez mares (from livejournal.com)]

Who will sit in these half chairs?