Could These Bunk Bed-Like Airplane Seats Be the Future of Flying?
As airlines issue new safety guidelines for passengers traveling during the pandemic, designers have been toying with the current seating arrangements on board. Recently, Avio Interiors introduced a three-seater design which reverses the direction of the middle seat and separates passengers with a transparent shield. Now, another airplane seat model is gaining attention for its unique double-decker style. Enter the Zephyr Seat!
CNN Travel spoke with the seat’s creator, Jeffrey O'Neill, who is the founder and CEO of the startup Zephyr Aerospace. What makes O’Neill’s seat stand out is its bunk bed–like arrangement which allows passengers to not only distance themselves from one another, but be able to lie down if they are trying to sleep. "We believe that new types of travelers will require privacy or will want to pay extra for that as much as they would pay for the ability to sleep," he says. His design would maximize the space in between a standard seat and its overhead bin by transforming it into another level of seating. This would not only offer passengers privacy, but allow them space to lie down and sleep, a valuable amenity when it comes to those long flights. "It's not as tall off the ground as people might imagine,” he says. “It's only four and a half feet off the ground from the entry point to the lower seat to the upper seat."
Not only would the Zephyr Seat enhance the passenger experience, but O'Neill explains that most major airlines would still be able to maintain the same headcount with this new seating. His idea for this double decker airplane interior concept came to him after a sleepless flight between New York and Singapore several years ago. Thinking back through all his travels, he recalled getting some quality shut eye during a long-distance bus trip where he was offered a bunk bed. O'Neill wanted to bring that bunk bed concept to air travel, hence, the Zephyr Seat.
While the idea is still in its early stages, O'Neill says he's identified an engineering partner and has been in talks with four major airlines, including Delta. As of now, there have been no firm commitments. Regardless, we won’t be seeing Zephyr Seats on board right away as the next step would be to put it through required safety tests, which could last up to three years. You can learn more about the Zephyr Seat here.
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