'Fart zone' fears as air passengers weigh in on latest seating concepts
From bicycle-style standing seats to double-decker recliners, airplane seating concepts have been intriguing and mortifying passengers in equal measure recently.
In February European manufacturer Airbus revealed it was working with a Spanish start-up, Chaise Longue, on a two-level seating system.
But the idea of some passengers staring at the lower backside of fliers on raised platforms sparked controversy online, with one social media user writing: 'Last thing I want when flying is being stuck in someone's fart zone.'
It comes after news this week that several budget airlines are set to introduce standing-only seat options.
The bike-style padded seats allow passengers to lean at an angle without completely sitting down – and could be introduced as early as 2026.
However, it's the double-decker idea - which features one row of seats on a raised platform, followed by one row at a normal level, and so on - that has caused unease among the flying public.
For passengers up top, worrying about the etiquette of reclining will be a thing of the past, with no one directly behind to complain about it.
Meanwhile, bottom passengers would be able to stretch their legs more and even put their legs up slightly, thanks to added space under the chair in front.
The dual level concept is courtesy of Alejandro Nunez Vicente, CEO and founder of Chaise Longue, who said his firm is exploring 'early stage concepts' with Airbus.
'After 4 exciting years pursuing my dream of improving the passenger experience and giving passengers what they truly deserve, today I am very excited to make [this] announcement,' Vicente said in a LinkedIn post.
'It's the dawn of a new era for commercial aviation, so I hope that you are as excited as we are with this announcement and that soon, you can be crossing the skies in a more comfortable, spacious and two-level seat.'
However, the initial images have raised fears about people passing gas in the cabin.
One person on X said: 'The nice thing about this arrangement, is that farts from the higher seats in front of you will hit you right in the mouth so you don't have to wonder where they came from.'
In response, Vicente said: 'With some common sense and maturity you should be able to find your answer.'
He added: 'Gas in general doesn't go through solid objects like seat cushions, seat covers and plastic shells.'
It's unclear when the two parties are aiming to roll the design out to aircraft; DailyMail.com has contacted them for more information.
Vicente, who studied industrial engineering at Brunel University of London, started building his first plane seat prototype by hand in 2021 using just a 'bunch of planks.'
Chaise Longue has provided a digital model online of the layout, which lets web users control a Sim-like figure in a mock-up of an aircraft cabin.
According to the concept – which has also piqued the interest of Emirates – passengers would decide whether they were booking top seats or bottom seats.
From the promo images, it seems passengers in the bottom seats would have ample legroom – but less space behind them to recline.
Conversely, the top passengers would have lots of room to stretch back but not quite as much legroom.
However, considering the bottom passenger would have their head directly behind a fellow flier's backside, the top seats may prove more popular.
What's more, bottom passengers would have the back of someone's chair looming high over them, which could either increase the sense of privacy, or claustrophobia.
Everyone would have space under their own seat to put their baggage – but the bottom row passengers would get a little extra space in front of them too.
Another said 'soon they will be packing us in with the luggage', adding: 'I will NOT fly in a double decker seating arrangement'
Yet another said: 'The day this seating arrangement goes into planes is the day I start travelling only as far as I can drive'
Notably, the design gets rid of the overhead luggage compartments in order to utilize the plane cabin's height as much as possible.
Vicente told CNN he's not on a mission to eradicate normal airplane seating.
Instead, he envisages a cabin where his concept is in the middle, flanked by two rows of traditional airplane seating, but he admitted 'there is still a long development ahead'.
He also said he's thankful Airbus sees 'the true potential of two-level seating', while adding he's 'open for collaboration' with other aviation companies.
Airbus confirmed the collaboration but offered scant further details about the project.
An Airbus spokesperson said: 'Chaise Longue is exploring some early stage concepts with Airbus on two-level seating solutions for Airbus commercial aircraft.'
'Given the nature of this early phase level,' the spokesperson added, Airbus preferred 'not to further comment at this stage'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I quit the UK for a lower salary in Italy because my high-flying job was going to kill me - why I'll never go back
When Philip Gwynne Jones packed up his life in the UK and moved to Venice in 2012, it was meant to be a one-year escape from a financial crisis that threatened his IT job at a major bank. Thirteen years later, he's still there - and says there's no chance he'll return to the place he once called home. Philip, 58 and his wife, Caroline, both worked as computer programmers at one of Scotland's largest banks during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. As the financial sector braced itself for tens of thousands of redundancies, around 30,000 to 40,000 according to the Swansea-born writer, the couple began exploring ways of reinventing their careers as 'middle-aged' IT specialists. The turning point for Philip came from a conversation with a stranger in the local pub. He became inspired by the punter's plan to teach English abroad, recalling: 'He was moving to Seville to teach English as a foreign language to Spanish people. He said you don't earn very much money, but it's a job.' Reflecting on his former role as a computer programmer, Philip admitted: 'I hated the job, and I thought the stress of it would kill me. I had lovely co-workers. I was feeling burned out and tired and hadn't enjoyed the job for for years.' But his life was about to change: within months, Philip and Caroline accepted a 'modest' redundancy payout, sold their Edinburgh flat to their neighbours, left their belongings with a relative and enrolled in a language school and teacher training programme in Venice. The couple's first year in the City of Canals was far from a dream: the pair experienced long hours, low pay and 'difficulty in finding well paid work.' But slowly, things changed. With experience under their belts, they were able to secure positions in Italy's state education system - jobs that offered better pay and regular hours. For Philip, the move to teaching also sparked a creative awakening. He explained: 'I taught English for 10 years, and I really enjoyed it, because it was different every day, and I just had so much fun doing it, and I met so many nice people doing it. 'Then during COVID, of course, everything went online. I found it more stressful than being in class. 'When the opportunity came to renew my contract with school for another year, I thought, I think I can step back from it now and I can just concentrate the writing.' Philip's debut novel was published when he was 50, and he's since gone on to release a number of crime thrillers with Venice at their heart. His latest work, the Magus of Sicily, is a 'concoction of crime and culture' inspired by his monthly trips to the southern Italian island. He said: '[Sicily] is right at the other end of the country. Basically it's on the other side of the diagonal. It's probably a 90 minute to two hour flight to Catania, which is where we go. 'Catania is right under the volcano - you gotta have a lot of confidence to want to live there.' 'Sicily is so beautiful and so fascinating, historically as well as physically. It's slightly bigger than Wales, but it feels so different to the rest of Italy.' Since their move, the couple have embraced the language, too, after completing three months of intensive Italian lessons. Philip explained: 'You can read the newspapers, you can listen to the radio, you can watch Italian TV. It's immensely useful to have. It's a good thing to have. 'In Venice, if they pick up on your accent - and they will pick up on your accent, because I'm never going to sound Venetian - we have these strange conversations where they want to practice in English and I want to use my Italian, so we're knocking it back and forth until one side concedes.' One of the most significant steps to settling in, he says, was joining a local choir. Philip said: 'I was singing in a choir in the UK, and that was something I really missed, so I joined the Venetian choir, and immediately that gave me a circle of friends.' The couple have also found friendships among both Italians and fellow expats. And despite the distance, technology has made it easy to stay in touch with loved ones back home. Asked to compare life in the UK and Italy, Philip doesn't hesitate - and he's all too willing to share aspects of his old life he doesn't miss. He said: 'Whenever I go back to the UK and I fly to Bristol, and I'll go drive to Pembroke, which is where my mum is at the moment, I tell you what I do not miss. 'I will not miss that drive along the M4 because it's a boring journey. For the first two hours - it's only really when you pass Carmarthen there's any sort of scenery at all - you're either just sitting in traffic, or it's a dull and boring drive. 'Now, actually, driving is one thing I really do not miss. I don't particularly like it because, of course, I'm in Venice, there are no cars, which is perfect for me.' While Venice has its downsides - crowds in the summer, along with high rent - Philip says it's no more expensive than Edinburgh, and many essential foods, such as olive oil and fish, cost less. He added: 'The cost of wine is substantially less. There's a little shop around the corner where you basically take a plastic bottle and they fill it up for you. I'm getting a litre and a half of Prosecco for about four euros, which is absurd.' He especially praises fregola, a Sardinian baked pasta rarely seen in UK supermarkets, adding: 'It's one of my favorite things to cook with, because it's almost impossible to overcook them. It's it's a very forgiving type of pasta. His advice to anyone considering the same move? Philip said: 'Take all the time you can to plan it properly. 'Do go there with the intention of learning the language or get as much of it nailed down as you can beforehand, because it will make your experience easier and it will make it richer. 'I think there will be days along the way where you think, oh my god, what have we done? But those days will pass if you invest in it properly. It's changed my life. It changed our lives. I'm very grateful to Italy into Venice for giving us this opportunity.' Despite the regular visits back to 'lovely' Wales to care for his mother, Philip says returning to the UK permanently isn't on the table - and he has no plans to change that anytime soon. He said: 'It's hard to imagine now, because we've invested so much in this. I can imagine maybe moving somewhere else in Italy, but moving back to the UK, it would involve giving up a lot. I don't imagine us doing that.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Kevin De Bruyne brands Brazil icon Ronaldo as the 'nicest legend in the game' while holidaying with Liverpool star in France
Former Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne has hailed Brazilian legend Ronaldo after meeting him while on holiday. De Bruyne is enjoying time off after a rollercoaster campaign with Manchester City and Belgium. The 33-year-old, who joined Napoli earlier this month, has been soaking up the sun in Southern France with Liverpool 's Virgil van Dijk. The pairs crossed path with legendary striker Ronaldo, 48, and posed for a photo all smiles. And De Bruyne was full of compliment for the South American, writing on Instagram: 'Nicest legend in the game', with a heart emoji. Ronaldo is currently in Biot, France, attending the Patrick Mouratoglou Charity Gala. The pair have holidayed together in the past, with Van Dijk previously praising the Belgian star back in 2022. Despite Manchester City and Liverpool's rivalry over the past seven years, De Bruyne and Van Dijk have remained good friends away from the sport. He said: 'Someone that I've never played with before but would love at Liverpool is Kevin De Bruyne. 'I think he's unbelievable. If he would have played at Liverpool we would have gone even further than we already have. 'I think he's outstanding, good on the ball, pressing, scoring, he's got everything as a modern-day midfielder and footballer in general. I think he's an outstanding player.' De Bruyne has also previously been complimentary of van Dijk, telling Sky Sports: 'He's got everything. I know him well: he's got right foot, left foot, speed, height, he's a leader. Thiago [Silva] is also amazing, but I just think Virgil has got that little bit more.'
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Why Scotland's most underrated city will soon be even easier to visit
Was Mary, Queen of Scots, the world's first footballer? Did Wild West outlaw Butch Cassidy take his inspiration from Rob Roy? And is William Wallace buried in a secret, unmarked grave? These are the questions travellers to Stirling are regularly asked by Ken Gray, a proud 70-something tour guide who fizzes with youthful enthusiasm about his hometown. His brainteasers spring up, have you puzzling, then leave you pondering why you've never visited this 900-year-old riddle of streets and spires before. 'Did you know Scotland's answer to the Wright Brothers launched their first plane over there?' he asked me, pointing to sunlit orchards in the distance. 'That's Stirling. Always ready to surprise.' More than one hundred years after the Barnwell Brothers made Scottish aviation history in summer 1909, Stirling is preparing for another first. From spring 2026, budget train operator Lumo is to launch the first direct service between Stirling and London. It will run up to five times daily, and as well as bringing Scots south, will put rail travellers from London Euston, Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston and Carlisle within grasp of all the same reasons I was there: forgetting Edinburgh, this is clearly the most history-rich city in Scotland. Certainly, seen from its crag-topped esplanade, Stirling gives the impression of not being quite real. To the north of us was its imposing castle, rising ragged from a bluff of cliffs, its ramparts and great halls bathed in sun. To the south, a sloping ridge underpinned by a jumble of Renaissance townhouses, tolbooths and a rippling cemetery of lopsided stones, among them that of Butch Cassidy's great-uncle. 'Stumbling on history is a given here,' chipped in the Scottish Tourist Guides Association guide, as the gravestones writhed around us. There is also the notion that this former barracks town is Scotland's real heart. A short stroll below the Old Town Jail – built in the mid-19 th century to replace what was then rated as Britain's worst prison – is The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum. Tartan, woven nearby in Bannockburn, fills the galleries with colour. Paintings show Stirling and William Wallace at war and in watercolour. A football, made from a pig's bladder, dating to the 1540s and found lodged in the rafters of the Queen's Chamber in Stirling Castle, is labelled as the world's oldest. Not far away outside, two statues of Robert Burns and Rob Roy bookend the old Corn Exchange. This is Scotland by numbers. Who will come to Stirling once the sleek new train service starts? I asked. 'Who wouldn't?' replied Ken. 'If they can afford the train tickets, mind.' Those interested in history was my guess, but also those who love the best bits of a small city combined with a bigger adventure, including those offered on two wheels. At the handlebars of his bike that afternoon was Stuart Meldrum, aka the brains behind Stuart's Bicycle Tours, which launched in Stirling in January. He's another devotee of Stirling and is interested in helping visitors trace the city's myths of origin back to today. His new venture is helped by the £9.5 million recently spent on cycle corridors connecting the Old Town with the 330-acre University of Stirling campus. They only opened last month, and perhaps, that was why we saw few other riders. In future you'll be able to bring your own foldable bike onboard Lumo's services, too. We began our 11-mile ride by crossing the River Forth, rattling over Stirling Old Bridge, a pedestrian arc of silvery sandstone at a horseshoe bend on the burn. Its architects had conceived it as the lowest crossing point of the Forth, and during the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, when the original timber crossing collapsed and was swept away, it was the key to Sir William Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray leading the Scottish army to victory over Edward I of England. 'This is the real 'Gateway to the Highlands',' said Stuart, as we paused mid-river, the noise of the Old Town having faded. 'It was always said that if you controlled Stirling Castle, you controlled the north. And the only way to get there was to cross here.' If those sorts of stories in stone suggest a dusty tour of dates, think again. Our journey was a rewarding pedal through Stirling's handsomest landscapes, from dairy farms to cygnet-stocked Airthrey Loch to the forests skirting the Ochil Hills. From there, it was a lung-swelling uphill sprint through oak and ash to Abbey Craig, location of The National Wallace Monument. The Romans were right to call the dark mountain bulks of the Highlands as seen from the summit 'an island apart', and the views compare to any in Central Scotland. We looked up at the church-like bell tower, watched by carrion crows. It felt a lot like Lord of the Rings. Similarly evocative are the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey, where we found ourselves alone. Back in the early 14 th century, the Augustinian monastery acted as Scotland's parliament under Robert the Bruce's leadership, but all that remains is an underappreciated bell tower and a legend that, frankly, few people believe. Cambuskenneth thrives in the imagination today thanks to its monks, who supposedly brought part of Wallace's dismembered arm to the abbey after he'd been hung, drawn and quartered, secretly giving him a proper burial. For me it was more than a little disappointing to find nothing but overgrown grass and fallen masonry. It was, however, the ideal spot for a last look back at Stirling Castle where, soon enough, we'd ended where we'd started. The restaurants and pubs of the Old Town helped me slip back into 21st-century Stirling. Swarms of people were filling the outside tables in the cobblestoned Old Town with beer and gossip, and soon I had joined them at No 2 Baker Street. Maybe it was the cold ale from nearby Harviestoun Brewery, but it struck me that if Robert the Bruce, Wallace and Mary were still around today, and ended up where I was, they'd probably be pretty happy with their lot. Essentials
