These New Economy Seat Concepts Are Getting Interesting

Flying coach on long-haul flights is miserable. Being stuck in a cramped seat with no ability to stretch out makes it near impossible to get rest before touching down in a new time zone. Although this has become a common frustration of travel, some companies are making an effort to introduce more comfortable alternatives to the economy seat, such as Air New Zealand’s Economy Skynest and newcomer Zephyr.

What is Zephyr?

Invented by Jeff O’Neill, Zephyr is a double-decker premium economy seat meant for wide-body jets. Mr. O’Neill’s concept is simple – create a better all-around product for customers without hurting the airline’s bottom line, which is exactly what he believes the Zephyr seat will do.

Intro to Zephyr Seat from jeff oneill on Vimeo.

He said, “We should not be having these ridiculous discussions about asking permission to recline a seat or get to the bathroom. Why are we even giving airlines the option to tell us how we can and cannot travel? Privacy should be accessible and affordable, and [airlines] should improve their customers’ in-flight experience.”

The seat is staggered in a 1-2-1 configuration, offering aisle access each and more privacy than today’s premium seats. It has a fixed recline and relies on a zero-gravity design to keep travelers comfortable. It also includes a cubby for personal items, an inflight entertainment screen, charging ports, and a large armrest.

Privacy and increased comfort is only the start of the Zephyr design. What makes it interesting is its ability to convert into a lie-flat bed. Although the seat itself does not lie flat, it has a cushion that connects two padded sections of the space to create an angled bed. It may not be business class luxury, but Mr. O’Neill believes it will still be favored oversleeping upright for 12 hours in today’s premium economy.

Will Airlines Buy It?

Mr. O’Neill says that because the seats are stacked, airlines will not forfeit capacity. The same number of seats in today’s wide-body cabins can be accommodated using Zephyr, so it should not impact an airline’s bottom line. Mr. O’Neill explained, “The best part of this seat: it has NO heavy mechanical/electronic components. The entire seat has only 2 moving pieces inside, so the weight and direct maintenance costs for the airline are significantly reduced! Using advanced composite materials, we can build this seat at less than 50kg per unit.”

What do you think about Jeff O’Neill’s design? Let us know in the comments!