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High speed trains in Taiwan have rotating seats, so if your loved one sits in front of you they can rotate their row to face you. A similar setup in airplanes w

by ipnon 6y ago

High speed trains in Taiwan have rotating seats, so if your loved one sits in front of you they can rotate their row to face you. A similar setup in airplanes would solve the biggest impediment to implementing the optimal method, that "I'm not leaving my child!"

sokoloff 6y ago
I can’t imagine the seat pitch in economy on any airliner is nearly large enough to permit rotation. Removing even a single row of seats is probably worse for airline economics than the amount by which it would speed boarding or add flexibility. (US law also prohibits car seats from being installed in rear-facing seats in aircraft; that law I think is a slight detriment to safety, but it is the law.)
- tyingq 6y ago
  Yeah, it's pretty cool, but wouldn't work with airline seat pitch: https://youtu.be/6-ee-eZtUKc https://youtu.be/6-ee-eZtUKc There is a design where the middle seat is further back than the aisle and window seats. It would help in a different way...it's easier to get in and out of the seats. There's even an option to slide the aisle seat in during boarding, though I'm somewhat skeptical about that. It does make the middle seat more desirable than it currently is, by making it wider and solving the armrest problem. https://www.fastcompany.com/3067612/this-redesigned-airplane-row-will-make-you-want-the-middle-seat https://www.fastcompany.com/3067612/this-redesigned-airplane...
  - nsxwolf 6y ago
    I am picturing a seat where the seat itself is stationary but the back slides forward or back on a track. Tray tables could be the style that stow in the seat and flip up and over.
    - sokoloff 6y ago
      If you look at the side view of seated people, the incline of the upper body and the nesting of feet under legs of next row pax works against you for club seating (seating which faces each other) and works for you for all forward seating. If you look at the sibling comment’s video, you can see that the pelvis of humans seated back-to-back is farther apart than what you can achieve in today’s all forward-facing seating. People are willing to some extent to nest feet with people they know but probably don’t want to sit 90° upright for over an hour.
    - Izkata 6y ago
      Like these (except for the tray): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxDrPeb2mxs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxDrPeb2mxs
jacquesm 6y ago
There is no way an aircraft seat that can rotate would get airline approval for economy class, and then you'd still have the problem of getting a seat not facing forward certified. Usually the only people in rearward facing seats are airline personnel so they can see the cabin and spot issues with the passengers.
- rjsw 6y ago
  Some military transport aircraft [1] have had all passenger seats facing to the rear. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_VC10#Military_service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_VC10#Military_service
  - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
    As I understand it, rear-facing feats are generally accepted to be safer, but are far worse for airsickness.
    - jacquesm 6y ago
      Same in vehicles. Another factor: lots of people simply prefer to face forward.
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  > There is no way an aircraft seat that can rotate would get airline approval for economy class Why's that?
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    Because it would mess up in flight service, would be a mess when it comes to having people get up and go to the loo, would be hard to keep an eye on during ascent/descent and so on, and besides it would only work for the outer seats of a row, and somehow the geometry of the inner seats would have to remain undisturbed (shared arm rests), and that's before we get to talk about the weight. It's a funny idea which works on trains because the rows are much narrower and the weight isn't a consideration, nor do trains typically have in transit meal service tray tables mounted in the backs of the seats before them.

by ipnon 6y ago

sokoloff 6y ago

I can’t imagine the seat pitch in economy on any airliner is nearly large enough to permit rotation. Removing even a single row of seats is probably worse for airline economics than the amount by which it would speed boarding or add flexibility. (US law also prohibits car seats from being installed in rear-facing seats in aircraft; that law I think is a slight detriment to safety, but it is the law.)

tyingq 6y ago
Yeah, it's pretty cool, but wouldn't work with airline seat pitch: https://youtu.be/6-ee-eZtUKc https://youtu.be/6-ee-eZtUKc There is a design where the middle seat is further back than the aisle and window seats. It would help in a different way...it's easier to get in and out of the seats. There's even an option to slide the aisle seat in during boarding, though I'm somewhat skeptical about that. It does make the middle seat more desirable than it currently is, by making it wider and solving the armrest problem. https://www.fastcompany.com/3067612/this-redesigned-airplane-row-will-make-you-want-the-middle-seat https://www.fastcompany.com/3067612/this-redesigned-airplane...
- nsxwolf 6y ago
  I am picturing a seat where the seat itself is stationary but the back slides forward or back on a track. Tray tables could be the style that stow in the seat and flip up and over.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    If you look at the side view of seated people, the incline of the upper body and the nesting of feet under legs of next row pax works against you for club seating (seating which faces each other) and works for you for all forward seating. If you look at the sibling comment’s video, you can see that the pelvis of humans seated back-to-back is farther apart than what you can achieve in today’s all forward-facing seating. People are willing to some extent to nest feet with people they know but probably don’t want to sit 90° upright for over an hour.
  - Izkata 6y ago
    Like these (except for the tray): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxDrPeb2mxs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxDrPeb2mxs

jacquesm 6y ago

There is no way an aircraft seat that can rotate would get airline approval for economy class, and then you'd still have the problem of getting a seat not facing forward certified. Usually the only people in rearward facing seats are airline personnel so they can see the cabin and spot issues with the passengers.

rjsw 6y ago
Some military transport aircraft [1] have had all passenger seats facing to the rear. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_VC10#Military_service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_VC10#Military_service
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  As I understand it, rear-facing feats are generally accepted to be safer, but are far worse for airsickness.
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    Same in vehicles. Another factor: lots of people simply prefer to face forward.
MaxBarraclough 6y ago
> There is no way an aircraft seat that can rotate would get airline approval for economy class Why's that?
- jacquesm 6y ago
  Because it would mess up in flight service, would be a mess when it comes to having people get up and go to the loo, would be hard to keep an eye on during ascent/descent and so on, and besides it would only work for the outer seats of a row, and somehow the geometry of the inner seats would have to remain undisturbed (shared arm rests), and that's before we get to talk about the weight. It's a funny idea which works on trains because the rows are much narrower and the weight isn't a consideration, nor do trains typically have in transit meal service tray tables mounted in the backs of the seats before them.