Double decker plane: economy class passengers in the US want to be seated on two floors

Flying economy for long periods of time is a dubious pleasure, but one airplane seat designer thinks it could revolutionize budget travel. CNN.

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The concept of a comfortable seat on an airplane for 21-year-old Alejandro Nunez Vicente began last year on a small scale as a college project. A nomination for the 2021 Crystal Cabin Awards, the top prize in the aviation industry, soon followed, and the design took center stage online following a CNN Travel article.

Since then, Nunez Vicente has made waves in the aviation world. He put his master's degree on hold to devote himself to the project. He is negotiating with major airlines and seat manufacturers. He was given a solid investment that allowed the project to develop.

But while some admire Nunez Vicente's innovation, others are wary, claustrophobic and convinced that sitting in a chair under another chair would be worse, not better, than it is now.

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“I grow more listening to critics and bad comments than listening to good comments and accepting the flowers that are thrown at me,” Nunes Vicente says in an interview in Hamburg, Germany, where he shows off his design at the 2022 Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) .

Its design is for everyday travelers, which is why Nunez Vicente says he's interested in hearing what potential passengers have to say.

“My goal here is to change economy seats, make them better for all the people who can't afford to pay for more expensive tickets,” he says.

Nunes Vicente will get even more feedback this week. AIX is one of the largest airshows in the world and features the first full scale prototype of the design.

Concept Testing

First, the top level. Nunez Vicente designed a prototype with two steps in the form of stairs, which travelers can use to get to the upper level. It's a bit unreliable, but once you're in there, the seat feels spacious and comfortable, and there's plenty of room to stretch your legs. The prototype seats don't move, but are each set in different positions to indicate how they can recline.

Nunez Vicente's design lacks an upper cabin. Instead, he designed a space between the upper and lower levels for travelers to carry their hand luggage.

In the huge, echo-filled hall of the Hamburg Messe, it's hard to imagine what it would be like to be so close to the ceiling of the salon. Nunez Vicente believes that the distance between the seated passenger and the top of the plane is about 1,5 meters. He argues that while the traveler cannot stand upright in this space, many can no longer stand upright in regular economy rows, although it appears these taller travelers will be further overwhelmed by such a design.

Next, try the bottom row of seats. Nunez Vicente's frustration with the lack of legroom was the initial impetus for the design, and the lack of a flush seat in front of you allows you to stretch out your legs, and there's a footrest for added comfort.

However, since the other level of seating is directly above you and in line with your eyes, it is claustrophobic. But if you don't mind tight spaces and plan on just sleeping the entire flight, this can be an effective solution.

Next Steps

The seats were originally intended for the Flying-V aircraft, a new aircraft concept currently being developed at the Delft University of Technology, Nunez Vicente's alma mater.

He now believes that this project could be implemented in a Boeing 747, Airbus A330, or any other mid-to-large wide-body aircraft.

Nunez Vicente is ambitious and confident that his design can become reality, but he also admits that ideas for unusual airplane seats don't often go from concept to reality. This is a lengthy process and the strict rules and regulations of the industry can be a hindrance.

In addition, economy seats on airplanes have hardly changed in decades, even though designers have come up with many reimagined concepts.

“One of the phrases I often hear is: “If the chair isn’t broken, why change it?” - Nunez admits to Vicente. “So if passengers are still flying in the worst economy seats, why do they need a better option?” It brings money. At the end of the day, the airline's goal is money, not making your flight better."

However, the chair designer is already working on the next step in their process to design a structure that will be lighter than its current iteration.

He hopes to work with an airline or seat manufacturer to make that happen.

“Right now we are showing the market what we have. And we let the market come in and tell us what we need to do next,” he says.

Nunez Vicente is now partnering with industry experts with years of experience, but the project started at his parents' home and his family remains an important part of the process.

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He is in AIX with his parents, who took a prototype sun lounger in a van across Europe and helped him install the seats in place.
“Of course, in the beginning, no one expected this project to become so big. But they all knew that I could do something,” says Nunez Vicente.

“If you had asked me before, I would have said that maybe it was just a university project. If you asked me now, after all the hard work, after all the efforts of many, many people, I would say that it is more of a reality now. We see this as the future of economy class,” he added.

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