Despite the fact that designers have already developed standing places for aircraft, airlines are in no hurry to introduce them into service
As BBC notes, in such seats a passenger can be in a semi-sitting position – standing on their feet, but leaning against a soft backrest and a small protrusion on which they can slightly sit. According to the manufacturers, the new seats are twice as light as ordinary ones and will allow seating to be compacted so much that passenger capacity will increase by 20%.
Supporters of the innovations believe that such seats, which combine the "comfort" of a wall and a bicycle saddle, will nevertheless be comfortable enough for those who would like to save a lot on flights lasting one to two hours. They claim that cheap standing places will make flights accessible to those who could not afford them.
The logic of airlines is understandable – increasing capacity by 20% will offset the costs of retrofitting aircraft. But this idea has several negative aspects, and these problems will need to be addressed.
The main problem with introducing such seats is the law. Aviation regulations in many countries require that all aircraft, except balloons, have "a seat or berth for each person over two years of age," and that each seat have "a seat belt for each crew member and passenger, and restraining belts on each berth."
Standing places are difficult to equip with a belt, and on the presented prototypes, this belt is not installed. This is the main problem with introducing such seats: seat belts are a matter of passenger safety, and it is unlikely that any aviation agency will decide to compromise on such requirements.
Belts are needed not only in situations where an aircraft makes an emergency landing. During flight at cruising altitude, airliners enter turbulence zones, sometimes quite severe. For example, a year ago, dozens of passengers on a Moscow-Bangkok flight were injured due to severe turbulence, with some victims diagnosed with multiple fractures.
Boris Rybak, General Director of Infomost-Consulting, explained in an interview with the BBC that even if an airline wants to get aircraft with such seats, it will at least have to ensure that aircraft manufacturing corporations certify such "seats." They, in turn, will face very serious problems.
"Certification of such seating, or rather, 'standing' places will take from five to seven years. It cannot be done faster. There are no analogues, and certification bodies are completely unprepared for this. I think they will stand like a wall against it," the expert said. "In 105 years of aviation development, this has not happened, and for it to happen, incredible efforts must be made. An aircraft manufacturer, whether Boeing or Airbus, will start talking about such a project if there is an order for a thousand aircraft," Rybak believes.
According to him, the chances that such an innovation will ever be adopted are very low – after all, even in a long-distance intercity bus, standing is prohibited, let alone an airplane.