British design and innovation consultancy Seymourpowell has unveiled an adjustable economy airline seat concept, which allows for seat width to be increased or decreased depending on passenger needs.
The concept – named ‘Morph’ – uses a sheet of fabric that is stretched across three seats and held in place using armrests and dividers. One sheet of fabric is used for the seat base and another for the seat back.
The seats also include formers, which can be moved to adjust the individual seat size. So, in a configuration of three 18-inch wide seats, one seat could be increased to 20 inches, one could remain 18 inches and the third could be reduced to 16 inches.
The company says airlines could choose to charge more for wider seats and less for the narrower seats. For families travelling together, the adults could widen their seats, while the children could sit in the narrower seats.
The launch of the Morph seat concept comes just two weeks after Airbus called on all airlines to offer a minimum 18-inch seat width in long-haul economy.
