Long-haul flights are equally exciting and exhausting. More often than not, they signify that you’re off to an interesting destination. However, sitting for long hours in a flying aircraft is certainly not something you would look forward to. Well, fret not because that is about to change. US-based startup Zephyr Aerospace is working on making plane rides a little less dreadful. Introducing Zephyr, an innovative lie-flat seat designed for economy class passengers on long-distance flights.
Upgrading seats is not always an option for most travelers out there. For one, business class seats are often too expensive. Meanwhile, premium economy seats only provide a few extra inches of legroom with no lie-flat feature. So, Zephyr aims to offer the “perfect seat upgrade” for passengers who value comfort and want the best value for their money.
US-based startup Zephyr Aerospace aims to make flying in economy class great again with an innovative seat design that allows passengers to fully lie down
These seats feature a unique design that allows passengers to freely and comfortably sit in whatever position they desire. Be it lounging upright with their legs fully extended or even lying down completely to take a quick nap. Each seat comes with a 78-inch lie-flat bed, enabling passengers to sleep at ease as they embark on a long journey.
With Zephyr Seats, travelers can enjoy the comfort and luxury of having their own individual cabins. Aside from giving travelers the privacy that they deserve, it’s also an effective way to enforce social distancing measures on planes.
“Our patent-pending design introduces a social-distancing compliant seating module that will disrupt the entire airline industry and make flying great again for all travelers.”
The seats can be retrofitted into any existing seat module of an airline through the use of an innovative “stacked” seating configuration. According to the website, this design can increase the capacity of long-haul aircraft by up to 20%. In addition, the seats’ simple architectural platform also allows for customization. So, the airlines can actually tweak their versions of Zephyr Seats depending on their target market and operational standards.
“Airlines will be able to choose from upgrades like memory foam seats, black-out curtains, OLED displays and other optional amenities.”
The seats will be available wholesale to commercial airlines and those with a private aircraft at $30K to $40K per unit. Meanwhile, licensing rights will also be available for seat manufacturers and airlines who wish to manufacture the seats in-house. According to the company, they’re currently in talks with commercial airlines, seating manufacturers and OEMs to bring the Zephyr Seats to the market. So, hopefully, these seats would be ready by the time we can all travel again!
Here’s what people have to say about this unique concept
Source: Zephyr Aerospace