Imagine... SRO From New York To Paris | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.13.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.07.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.08.24 Airborne-FlightTraining-05.09.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.10.24

Tue, Apr 25, 2006

Imagine... SRO From New York To Paris

This Woulda Been A GREAT April 1st Story

The following is the kind of story that makes you immediately check the byline date to make sure it's not April Fools Day -- yup, that was almost four weeks ago (or 48 weeks in the future -- ANN already has some great ideas for next year's issue.)

But nope, this one seems for real. According to no less an authority than the New York Times, Airbus has been quietly looking into the idea of offering standing room only "seats" on its largest jets, in order to squeeze out the maximum amount of passenger-carrying capacity.

"To call it a seat would be misleading," Volker Mellert, a physics professor at Oldenburg University in Germany, told the Times.

From a purely financial perspective, the idea of using padded "backboards" equipped with harnesses to hold passengers firmly to their... vertical slabs... makes sense. Airlines have been subscribing to the "more passengers, less room" notion for awhile now.

By using newer seats with thinner seatbacks -- which should, theoretically, provide more legroom to current seating configurations -- to justify adding more rows instead, many airlines have been able to pack in the passengers like so many no-free-meal sardines.

But at least those were... you know, seats.

Airbus has reportedly pitched the idea to several Asian carriers, although none have agreed to the notion just yet. By utilizing the SRO option, an airline could reportedly offer the full 853-passenger configuration for Airbus's A380 superjumbo, while still offering three-class seating (the current maximum for the A380 is for all-coach-class seating).

An additional six "seats" could also be fitted to a typical Boeing 737, according to the Times, for a total of 156 -- and as many as 12 could be added on a Boeing 757 for a total of 200.

For their part, Airbus denies the rumor. "Our passengers and customers want more and more comfort," said Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht. "We're going in the direction of more comfort, not in that direction."

True, passengers want greater comfort... but airlines want greater capacity, and it's not the passengers who buy jets.

Our bold prediction: look for the new "Meathook" class on some overseas carriers, at least, within the next few years.

FMI: www.airbus.com

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 05.10.24: Icon Auction, Drunk MedEvac Pilot, Bell ALFA

Also: SkyReach Parts Support, Piper Service Ctr, Airliner Near-Miss, Airshow London The Judge overseeing Icon's convoluted Chapter 11 process has approved $9 million in Chapter 11 >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.13.24): ILS PRM Approach

ILS PRM Approach An instrument landing system (ILS) approach conducted to parallel runways whose extended centerlines are separated by less than 4,300 feet and at least 3,000 feet >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.13.24)

Aero Linx: FlyPups FlyPups transports dogs from desperate situations to fosters, no-kill shelters, and fur-ever homes. We deliver trained dogs to veterans for service and companion>[...]

Airborne-NextGen 05.07.24: AI-Piloted F-16, AgEagle, 1st 2 WorldView Sats

Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]

Airborne 05.08.24: Denali Update, Dad-Daughter Gyro, Lake SAIB

Also: NBAA on FAA Reauth, DJI AG Drones, HI Insurance Bill Defeated, SPSA Airtankers The Beechcraft Denali continues moving forward towards certification, having received its FAA T>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC