Standing-room-only 'seating' on Japanese flights

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]

Will you stand for less room on flights?
Airbus floats idea of SRO 'seating' to Asian carriers
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Tuesday, April 25, 2006
The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class?
A lot more, it turns out, especially if an idea still in the early stage should catch on: standing-room-only "seats."
Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers....Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness....
...With a typical configuration, the A380 will accommodate about 500 passengers. But standing-room-only seats would make it easier for the same plane to fit in 853 passengers, the maximum it would be permitted to carry... All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, are lukewarm about the Airbus plan. "Airbus had talked with us about an 800-seat configuration for domestic flights," said Rob Henderson, a spokesman for All Nippon Airways.......more....

[ichigo partygirl]

Sheesh! Why dont they just put us in some temporary coma and then they can just stack us up in boxes........

[homesweethome]

Sheesh! Why dont they just put us in some temporary coma and then they can just stack us up in boxes........

Is this a re-run?

[emperor]

Why dont they just put us in some temporary coma and then they can just stack us up in boxes........

Its called extraordinary rendition and theyre getting extraordinarily efficient at it:
[ATTACH]1131[/ATTACH]

imagine how many more cats you could fit on a flight:

[Taro Toporific]

[Charles]

OK, assuming you've got several standing "seats" in each row, how the hell are you supposed to get in and out of them? It seems to me there would be no way to slide past anyone, they're so narrow. Or are you supposed to just strap in and you're not allowed to move until everyone gets off?

And of course there are other problems, what about handicapped people who can't stand? Does someone lift them up, strap them in, and let their legs dangle?

If they really want to cram them in, maybe it would be better if everyone was horizontal, like in a capsule hotel.

[Kanchou]

It probably wouldn't be all that uncomfortable, so long there is sufficient support to keep you up without any effort on your part... Hell, I could probably even sleep during the flight more easily that way (as long as I can lean over), whereas I can't in a normal seat.

BUT...

If they were to increase the passenger capacity by 30% like this, where the hell are they gonna stick the people's luggage?

It's not like they aren't already anal enough about excess baggage... I had to pay 20,000 yen just to get my computer home (in a suitcase-sized box), whereas it cost half that going TO Japan...

If the people are standing up, you would lose virtually all of your overhead storage as well, so it's not like you're really taking advantage of unused space (not quite like building skyscrapers to save space...).

I think the only reasonable solution to the problem is to make the planes bigger, or design something completely novel that changes what they have to deal with entirely (like making a flying body that has the cabin as part of the wing, although that makes the ride a bit less pleasant for those on the sides...)... of course, the bigger the plane, the bigger the runway has to be...

[kamome]

It reminds me of some roller coasters that I've been on...

[emperor]

according to The Guardian - its bullshit:

Update: The news blog finally made contacted with Airbus, which described the IHT article as a "fantastic story but not true". The Airbus official went on to say: "It is not something that Airbus has been working on and if flies in the face of what we're doing with the A380, which is more room. We can assure you it is not an Airbus idea, we have not talked about it inside Airbus and our customers have not asked us about such an idea."
Airbus is now seeking a correction to the New York Times article carried by the IHT. Well, it seems there are limits to blue skies thinking.

The Guardian

[IkemenTommy]

I wonder where they got the original concept...

[GomiGirl]

well there is a labour crisis looming... gotta get all those dirty FG wage slaves in somehow... I thought the same thing when I saw that photo.. I guessed it was one of Taro's photoshopping masterpieces.

Actually I would like to run a competition to see which one of Taro's photoshopped graphics is the most popular...

[Taro Toporific]

Actually I would like to run a competition to see which one of Taro's photoshopped graphics is the most popular...

Sorry, but I conceded photoshopping defeat to Ultra (top) and Gomichild (bottom) long ago.

[GomiGirl]

Damn I nearly forgot about those.... almost.

Aren't we just the coolest.

Sorry for thread hijacking....

[GomiGirl]

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10446

Just got me hunting for this thread - read it again - there is some funny shit in there!!!

[EZPZ]

This got me thinking about about "economy class syndrom". Looking into it it seems that researchers seem to have found that long flights and travel time do not cause blood clots to form in the legs. However, their tests were conducted on conditions that are expereinced in today's economy class.

I wonder if standing increases ones chance of blood clots forming in the legs.

[Taro Toporific]

[Greji]

[floatl]pix via

Hell! If they get those installed, we won't be able to take a flight without GG, or SG on it. They'll be flying the polar route, three or four times a week just to get their feet in the stirrups and flip on the buzzer. Damn perverts....

[Ganma]

[wuchan]

this idea was floated about five years ago. Didn't happen then...

[Tsuru]

The biggest problem is that the planes that are flying today are certified to carry a certain maximum amount of passengers, usually equivalent to a 100% economy configuration with conventional seating. This is 853 passengers in the case of the A380-800, and the requirement is that all of these people can get off the plane in 90 seconds with only half of the emergency exits open. So if you want to carry more people you need add more doors, and the engineering/certification costs are usually too big to make this feasible.

Another problem is an engineering one: with the existing certification (crash) load cases the increase in moment arm which results of narrower, higher seats puts loads on floor and the seat tracks which they weren't designed to take. So you have to redesign the floor of the aircraft or install mounting points in the ceiling, the engineering and certification costs of which for each aircraft type -you guessed it- sort of negate the point of having these seats in the first place.

Damn right too.... I wouldn't feel safe at all in these things.

[GomiGirl]

Wouldn't it be better to line everybody up sardine style horizontally rather than vertically - eg movie Fifth element.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

More photos HERE
Looks real comfy....

[BigInJapan]

From the above site:



I think this will be the experience of many middle-aged westerners...
Anyone other than 150 cm tall Asian women is going to have a tough time indeed.

[Greji]

From the above site:

Looks like he's easing down on the vibrator....

[Coligny]

From the above site:



I think this will be the experience of many middle-aged westerners...
Anyone other than 150 cm tall Asian women is going to have a tough time indeed.

Ok, where are we supposed to put cats and babies ? Or put small bag under the seats ? (since people will be fighting even more for overhead bins).

[Iraira]

The picture of the seating/standing style Airbus kinda resembles the slaveships from Africa to the Americas. Good job airbus.

[Coligny]

The picture of the seating/standing style Airbus kinda resembles the slaveships from Africa to the Americas. Good job airbus.

We might have to update you a little aboot the secret love between Taro and photoshoop...

Which is a bit strange since you actually found his source material...

[Iraira]

We might have to update you a little aboot the secret love between Taro and photoshoop...

Which is a bit strange since you actually found his source material...

Yeah, now that I look at the airbus thing again...it does look a little chachi for something....ah fuck it...shoulda gone to bed earlier.