At Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg last week, these standing/perching seats caught our eye. We had to find out more from Aviointeriors CEO, Ermanno de Vecchi.

The idea for the densely packed seats was first presented by the company around 10 years ago but they couldn’t achieve certification. Now, de Vecchi says: “The seats can be certified,” because floor and ceiling fixings have been added.

The seat allows a 23-inch pitch rather than the 28 inches available on most aircrafts. They also weigh 50% less than standard seating, Aviointeriors says.

The company says the seats are certifiable, “ready to go” and can be used immediately.

A class of their own

De Vechhi noted that adding Skyrider 2.0 enables carriers to add a third class of seating, with those sitting in the Skyrider seats paying less than economy passengers.

He said the seats will be useful for very short-haul flights of around 45 minutes, and likened the experience to taking the bus.

The company expects to see the Skyrider seating taking off in Asia first due to rising passenger numbers.

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