Denver Engineer Invents Seats That Are A 'Win For Passengers And Airlines'
DENVER (CBS4) - Hate getting the aisle seat? How about the long wait to get on and off a plane? Well one Denver engineer may have the answer to your prayers.
It's called the Side-Slip Seat and it's designed to make passengers more comfortable, reduce travel time, and save airlines money. It's the brainchild of Denver-based engineer Hank Scott with Molon Labe Designs.
"The seats really came out of the frustration of … I really don't like waiting in the aisle when I get off a plane." Scott said.
With the Side-Slip Seat the seats are staggered with the middle seat set further back, which allows for more elbow room. The seating plan also allowed for more width, which Scott and his team allocated to the middle seat, increasing it from 18 to 20 inches.
The real technology that will get airlines excited is the seat sliding technology.
"Airlines that are flying for shorter hops, they really care about the turnarounds," Scott said.
With a push of a button the aisle seat can slide over the middle seat, which more than doubles the aisle width from 19 to 41 inches. That allows passengers to get on and off faster.
"This seat is a win for the passengers and for the airlines," Scott said.
Scott will be in London Sept. 15 to debut the Side-Slip Seat to airlines around the world. Scott said they will market directly to low-cost carriers like Southwest and Denver-based Frontier.
Scott claims the Side-Slip seating plan can support the same number of passengers on a plane as standard seating, but believes his way will revolutionize the way we fly.
"I think if an airlines want to save fuel and make their passengers happier and give them more space, it's pretty much a no-brainer."