Is this the future of air travel?

Photo: gravitat-OFF

IF YOU THOUGHT THAT AIRPLANES were uncomfortable, wait to see what Airbus has in store for you.

The 2015 Aircraft Interiors Expo that took place this week in Hamburg, Germany revealed Airbus’s plan to make passengers even more miserable. The new seat configuration in the A380’s economy class (of course, where else?) consists of rows of 11 seats, i.e. instead of a 3-4-3 layout, passengers will have to deal with a 3-5-3 layout as soon as 2017.

Airbus’s official picture of the new seat configuration. Photo: Australian Business traveller

This hellish “innovation” will bring up the passenger count from 525 to 544. Airbus explained to Quartz that “more crammed seating offers airlines and their economy customers more choice, especially those in China and southeast Asia who are willing to sacrifice some comfort for cheaper seats”.

Here is a better view of what it will actually be like to sit in an A380’s budget economy class. Doesn’t it make you want to spend hours in the middle seat?

Photo: John Walton

Photo: John Walton