Double-Decker Airplane Seats Are Back to Haunt Your Dreams
A 23-year-old industrial designer is looking to revolutionize airplane seating.
A 23-year-old industrial designer named Alejandro Núñez Vicente is here to revolutionize our air travel experience, and he is looking to do that with a concept that might sound a little odd (or even nightmarish) to some travelers: Double-decker airplane seats.
If you feel like the name and concept ring a bell, it's because it should. Originally, the idea started as a college project, and it soon went viral after being nominated for the Crystal Cabin Awards in 2021. Over the last year, Núñez Vicente has worked full time to bring the prototype closer to his ideal perfection, and now, he is bringing it to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, where it will be tested by a few big players in the airline industry.
According to Núñez Vicente’s Instagram post highlighting the double-decker seat, his project is a winner and contrary to what critics might say, the goal of the seats isn't so that airlines can cram more people onto aircrafts. "My goal as a designer is to make the economy class better for all those travelers that can't afford more expensive tickets," he writes.
But don't envision a double-decker-only plane just yet. As CNN Travel reports, Núñez Vicente's idea is that of equipping planes with double-decker seating, named Chaise Longue, in the middle, surrounded by two rows of regular airplane seating on its sides. This way, all travelers would be comfortable seating on a plane, whether they embrace the Chaise Longue concept or not.
The Chaise Longue isn't just a winner for passengers, he claims. Thanks to its structure, it would be able to seat more comfortably people in need of more legroom and, at the same time, it would allow airlines to sell more seats on a plane.
Haters, however, are always going to hate—but Núñez Vicente isn’t worried. "Most of the times when they show you something new, everyone hates it at first, they're scared of change," he told CNN. "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."
For now, the Chaise Longue, just like another recently unveiled airplane seating innovation, is only a prototype, but if you're curious to see what it would be like, you can check it out in the metaverse.