New Airline Seat said to Increase Capacity by 20%

Italian seat manufacturer Avio Interiors released a new type of seat at the Hamburg aircraft interiors exposition. The seats allows for 20% more capacity and is shaped a bit like a saddle. 'The Skyrider 2.0 is an innovative seat, it allows an ultra-high density in the aircraft cabin. Skyrider 2.0 opens the travelling experience to a wider passenger market, creating also a useful space for the introduction mixed classes boarded on the same aircraft', says Avio Interiors on their website.

The new design 'is the new frontier of low cost tickets' and is said to offer an opportunity to those who at the moment cannot afford to fly. The new seats are aimed at low cost carriers, and offer cheaper maintenance costs and fuel costs thanks to its reduced weight. The company says the 'Skyrider 2.0 weighs 50% less than standard economy class seats and the reduced number of components enable minimum maintenance costs'. In addition to that, the manufacturer says that 'the design of this seat enables to increase the passenger number by 20% allowing [increased] profits for airline companies'.

The seat was originally launched after low-cost airline VivaColumbia said that it would remove all seats from the aircraft to fit more passengers in and maximize profits. Obviously, this move is not approved by any government, however the seat design that Avio interiors have come up with may just be the thing VivaColumbia and other carriers need. Commenting on this, the CEO said VivaColumbia are looking at every way to lower fares for passengers including supporting research for 'flying standing up'.

Ryanair is in a similar situation, and to stay competitive, the airline also proposed the same suggestion. The CEO, Michael O'Leary suggested 'bar stools with seatbelts'.

The orders for the seats have not been revealed, however it is highly likely that many low-cost airlines are prepared to order these new seats that offer airlines more capacity allowing for lower fares for the passenger.