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.. and this could well prove it

If you judged an invention by early media reviews of its patent, then Zodiac Seats France's "Economy Class Cabin Hexagon" seating pattern is dead on arrival.

Just a few headlines:

"Hey Look the Most Nightmarish Idea for Plane Seating Ever" (Wired)

"'Economy Class Cabin Hexagon' is every flyer's worst nightmare" (Fortune)

"Evil plane seat design would ruin whatever good remains of air travel" (The Verge)

So what's the big deal? Under the details of the patent, Zodiac Seats France, which makes accessories for aircraft, would arrange passengers on a plane in a hexagon pattern with the middle seat facing backwards. Of course, all of this would result in the ability to put more people on a plane. The Verge explains:

"Basically, the idea is to take the middle seat — already the worst seat on a flight — and turn it around 180 degrees so as to maximize space.
"You may notice that, with this configuration, your in-flight infotainment screen will be supplemented with persistent eye contact from your neighbors. Please also note where hands rest..."
We'll let you judge for yourself. Here are some drawings from the patent application:




To take better advantage of space on an airplane, this patent arranges passengers in a hexagonal pattern.



To take better advantage of space on an airplane, this patent arranges passengers in a hexagonal pattern.

..hmm..

Thanks but no thanks really.

Imagine that for 9 hours or whatever.

Looks horrible, occasionally I have to take the train downtown and always dread when the seats are flipped and I have to stare at some stranger for the whole ride.

Last thing on earth I want to endure is sitting across from somebody for 4-6 hours while a nose booger flicks in and out of their nostril.

Oh hell no. I think that'd force me to save even more money for any long trip I'd want to do just so I could travel in business class.

Let's see that pass the health and safety checks. I want to enter the isle, but need to literally step over a person's body to reach it. Oh there's a fire and we all need to escape quickly, well that was always a problem before, but this...

Yeah no. Put it in the same ideas box of that company which wanted short flights to have no seating whatsoever so they could pack more people in (again with no concern for comfort or health and safety...).

Good lord that looks horrific. I'm glad it is unlikely to ever be used, as it would slow down evacuation far to much, and like the Ryan Air idea of standing "seats" it will fail if they ever take it as far as practical testing, but it just goes to show that too many designers still don't take in to account with so many things that they are designing for humans, not tins of beans or frozen meals. You need more than just "how can we fit the most units in to the least space", be that in airplanes, houses or offices.

Next idea; laying down in sleep pods stacked ontop of each other like shipping containers and removed like regular cargo. You give all the passengers a ton of sedatives and wake them up a few hours.

Ah hell someone's going to suggest just that idea in future, and if the world's enough of a gak hole it'll actually happen.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
Next idea; laying down in sleep pods stacked ontop of each other like shipping containers and removed like regular cargo. You give all the passengers a ton of sedatives and wake them up a few hours.

I would quite like that actually.

Yeah that doesn't sound like a half-bad idea. I'd much rather fall asleep at one airport and then wake up 9 hours later at my destination, the transition seeming immediate to me.

That said, with the way some cargo is handled at airports... I'd sure hope my pod isn't being left somewhere stupid or haphazardly moved or whatever.

Also safety would be a potential issue... I wouldn't want my pod to become an insta-coffin.

Other than that... awesome idea!

Oh, the coffin being damaged wouldn't be so bad. The 2 hour delay that causes all of the passengers to wake up short of their destination would be.

I wouldn't mind this on 3 or 4 hour flights, if it came with a suitable fare reduction.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
Next idea; laying down in sleep pods stacked ontop of each other like shipping containers and removed like regular cargo. You give all the passengers a ton of sedatives and wake them up a few hours.

Id' prefer that to coach on United. Seriously.

Based on the current seat sizes do you think that they'd give you something so roomy as a coffin?

If anything the airlines wants you to have even less room than they currently provide. Stacked like cord wood would be a start, their ideal is probably to match the way people are crammed like sardines on the Tokyo subway. Standing room only, no concerns for people falling over because they are wedged in too tightly to possibly move.

 paulson games wrote:
Based on the current seat sizes do you think that they'd give you something so roomy as a coffin?

If anything the airlines wants you to have even less room than they currently provide. Stacked like cord wood would be a start, their ideal is probably to match the way people are crammed like sardines on the Tokyo subway. Standing room only, no concerns for people falling over because they are wedged in too tightly to possibly move.

The difference is how Tokyo Subway rides take maybe 1 hour tops, when you start at one end of a line and travel to the other end. I don't see that ever happening when you have flights over 10 hours long.

How would you embark and disembark on that?

 Frazzled wrote:
How would you embark and disembark on that?

The question I've been asking myself ever since I saw a picture like that.

 Frazzled wrote:
How would you embark and disembark on that?

It's absolutely impossible for fat or tall people.
Horrible

All Tokyo subway riders are contortionists...

Like any busy subway I guess, push, shove and kick your way out. Que a pile of people falling out of the train at every stop and the company being sued daily for breaches in (you guessed it) health and safety.

I'd totally take a sleeping pod and just enough sedatives to knock me out for the duration of a flight. Where do I sign up for that?

Ocean Liners are going to make a comeback if the air lines keep getting worse

 Jihadin wrote:
Ocean Liners are going to make a comeback if the air lines keep getting worse

I will also sign up for this.

And for good US train service.

Ok, US Airlines MUST be hell for so many of you wanting the sedative thing

I actually enjoy the ride since I'm able to watch movies in relative confort, play some games, eat and if the trip is one of those that just destroyers your sleep schedule, I do try to not sleep the night before so I can sleep in-flight.

The hexagon thingy looks like a university ergonomics project that might have gotten good marks for creativity, but that no sane Industry person would ever use.

I fly to various parts of the US every other week, usually 2-3 hour flights, and I wouldn't get on such a plane for a short 30 minute hop.

 kronk wrote:
The hexagon thingy looks like a university ergonomics project that might have gotten good marks for creativity, but that no sane Industry person would ever use.

I fly to various parts of the US every other week, usually 2-3 hour flights, and I wouldn't get on such a plane for a short 30 minute hop.

Its the new United Flight Plan. That way they can fit more paying passengers, and leave them stranded on the tarmac for hours....

 Frazzled wrote:

 kronk wrote:
The hexagon thingy looks like a university ergonomics project that might have gotten good marks for creativity, but that no sane Industry person would ever use.

I fly to various parts of the US every other week, usually 2-3 hour flights, and I wouldn't get on such a plane for a short 30 minute hop.

Its the new United Flight Plan. That way they can fit more paying passengers, and leave them stranded on the tarmac for hours....

It will only take one good fart to ruin that experience
Yes I would

Plus in this arrangement, effective management of any localized person actuated disruptions (passenger riots) occurs as no one will be able to negotiate out of the seats to do any rioting.

Home Security is now studying for mandatory implementation as we speak. Thanks Obama!

My brother, who is a Pilot and Flight Instructor for an Airline (United) said that the airlines would never consent to this.

Safety Reasons would prevent them even considering it.

The Window Seats would be nearly impossible to evacuate in an emergency, and you would have people in every portion of the aircraft facing different directions.

It may not seem like much to simply "Turn around." But in the cramped confines of a airline cabin, just one person screwing up turning around could wind up killing hundreds.

Then, even iff you have perfect behavior from the passengers, it takes a LOT more time to evacuate from this pattern than others, because of every isle being obstructed by the seats facing the other directions.

The Simulations airlines did (my brother did one of them), showed that evacuation took upward of 2x to 3x as long with this configuration.

Then there are the hazards created by emergency procedures in landings, where passengers are to lean forward.

This creates situations where you get collisions between passengers in a rough landing, so that on a landing where emergency procedures had to be taken, and which would have otherwise resulted in no injuries or casualties on landing, you suddenly get a much greater chance for injuries and casualties (meaning insurance payouts).

The Combination of all of the possible payouts resulting from the increased payload vastly offset any gains in profit.

All it would take was one accident where people died who would not otherwise have died with our current system for a class action suit of crippling scale to occur.

MB


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Jihadin wrote:
Ocean Liners are going to make a comeback if the air lines keep getting worse

Please don't bypass the language filter like this. Reds8n

The only time I like to fly is when I have no other option.

I prefer train and ship travel (One of the reasons I prefer Asia and Europe - they both still have Passenger Ships and Trains).

MB

Everyone complains about how crowded and uncomfortable flights are, but market studies have shown there’s market sector of about 5-10% who balance flight comfort against price, and for the other 90-95% of the market price is almost the only factor in booking a flight. That’s the basic reason services on flights have slowly decreased - for most of the market share the airlines are competing on price, and cutting whatever they can to remain profitable at that very low price. It’s why discount airlines have formed and suddenly captured a lot of market share very quickly.

Now, this idea might be the step too far, the point at which people stop looking just at cost, but then maybe not. And if it’s offered for just a small market portion, a sub-economy class, well then I kind of get it. Backpackers put with far worse than this to travel around, afterall.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
Next idea; laying down in sleep pods stacked ontop of each other like shipping containers and removed like regular cargo. You give all the passengers a ton of sedatives and wake them up a few hours.

Ah hell someone's going to suggest just that idea in future, and if the world's enough of a gak hole it'll actually happen.

A bit like this:
https://scifiinterfaces.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/sleep-regulator/

All Tokyo trains are not that busy. It tends to happen at certain major stations and interchanges on particular lines during rush hour. Therefore a lot of people want to get off at the same stop and it isn't so hard to get off too.

Getting on is much easier than in the UK because in Japan the platforms are marked with queuing lanes that correspond to the door positions of the different types of trains, allowing plenty of room for passengers to disembark. People just queue nicely and board the train very well.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
All Tokyo trains are not that busy. It tends to happen at certain major stations and interchanges on particular lines during rush hour. Therefore a lot of people want to get off at the same stop and it isn't so hard to get off too.

Getting on is much easier than in the UK because in Japan the platforms are marked with queuing lanes that correspond to the door positions of the different types of trains, allowing plenty of room for passengers to disembark. People just queue nicely and board the train very well.

Yes, but weren't the British genetically bred to be the ultimate que'ers in the infamous Line Wars in the 1600s? Its not fair to harp about your genetically gifted talents.
Texans can't line up for squat. Stand too long in a line and the mosquitoes start carrying people off. Occasionally a killer jackalope will run by and skewer someone.

Personally, yes price is a factor, but its a factor for companies. Southwest, one of the cheapest, actually has MORE leg room than most of the majors. At this point I will never voluntarily fly anywhere, and will drive anywhere under 200 miles.