Is this the end to middle seat misery? New design could finish airline rows over which passengers get to have their elbows on the armrests
- Design by Molon Labe features staggered seating, with middle seat further back
- Middle seat is also four inches wider than average short-haul flight, and lower
- Aisle seat can be slid across middle seat during boarding to make aisle wider
The middle seat on a plane comes with the uncomfortable prospect of being tucked up in close proximity to two strangers for several hours - as well as a battle over who gets the armrests.
However, that could all now change with a clever new design for short-haul flights that features staggered seating.
In the proposed layout, the middle seat is positioned further back than the aisle and window seats, as well as being lower.
In the proposed layout, the middle seat is positioned further back than the aisle and window seats, as well as being lower and wider. The aisle seat can be slid across the middle seat in order to make the aisle wider for boarding
The seat designed by Molon Labe is also four inches wider than the average short-haul flight seat at 21inches, the Times reported.
Meanwhile, the aisle seat - which is still an inch wider than the average seat at 18inches - can be slid across the middle seat in order to make the aisle wider for boarding.
Hank Scott, founder and CEO of Denver-based Molon Labe, told the newspaper: 'The shoulders of the centre-seat bloke are a good two inches behind the others.
'As humans are usually widest at the shoulders, this is a tremendous effect.'
The new design means the person sitting in the middle seat should have plenty of space (file photo)
He said the seats have already undergone in-house testing and are now awaiting certification from aviation authorities.
It comes as Boeing and Airbus revealed that they have designed two wide-body airplanes that could stop jet lag symptoms.
Since jet lag symptoms set in around 6,500 ft in the air, the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 are designed with plastics in the airframe, allowing the cabin to stay pressurized at 6,000 feet - no matter how high the plane flies.
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