Are Standing Seats The Future Of Budget Air Travel & How Safe Are They To Travel On?

Do you remember those half-sitting and half-standing seats for aircraft that created buzz a few years back? Well, looks like standing seats are soon going to be a reality as reports suggest that several low-cost airlines are planning to introduce them in their fleet by 2026. Intrigued? Scroll on to know more about this.

Standing Seats On Airplane To Become A Reality By 2026

In 2026, your budget travel might be more than just less legroom in the aircraft. According to a Timeout report, low-cost airlines might introduce standing seats for short-haul flights by next year. So, yes, you might have to sacrifice that already less knee space in the aircraft to save some extra bucks.

The Skyrider 2.0 is a new standing-style seat that could soon be introduced to budget aircraft for short-haul flights. While this may not burn a hole in your wallet, it will require you to have a lot of core strength as these seats are not for seating but leaning. You will be half-seating and half-standing at a 45-degree angle and all your weight will be on your legs and core muscles, and you will be seat-belted in.

These standing seats, which resemble bike-like saddle seats, will be manufactured by Aviointeriors, an Italian manufacturer. They were first introduced in 2018 and created a lot of buzz for their design and how it could be the “future of budget air travel.”

The big question is, how safe are these seats for travel, especially keeping in mind how turbulence often pose a big risk during air travel? Well, while there is not much research about it yet, standing in turbulent situation is not considered safe at all. So, this half-seated, half-standing seat arrangement can be dangerous as well. Although, more research and tests need to be conducted.

Also Read: IndiGo Flight, With 227 Onboard, Hits Turbulence Due To Hailstorm; Nose Falls Off While Landing

More About These Seats

As per reports, standing seats in aeroplanes can help increase passenger capacity on flights by up to 20%. Furthermore, it can also make the planes lighter as they weigh almost half the amount of regular seats. This will help the plane burn less fuel as well. Most importantly, these seats will be very cheap and allow the plane to make most trips as the cleaning would require less time.

These seats could be introduced in short-haul flights by early 2026. These flights will likely be under two hours long, allowing passengers to fly for cheap. It is to be noted that no airlines have confirmed their plans to invest in the new seating style for their aircraft. However, some reports suggest that budget Spanish and Eastern European airlines can introduce them by next year.

Also Read: How Did A Lufthansa Flight Fly For 10 Minutes Without A Pilot?

This development is very interesting and has garnered a lot of mixed reactions from travellers. Let us know your two cents about this in the comments.

Cover Image Courtesy: X/@Dexerto & Canva (representative image)