Thus you could travel by plane in the future: the innovative design of this young Spanish seeks to increase the comfort of the economic class passengers with double -level aircraft

If when you have traveled by plane you have thought you were encased and needed more space, you are not alone.

Aircraft seat designers have been innovating for years to offer the greatest possible comfort without reducing the number of passengers.

One of the projects that this balance has found is the work of a 21 -year -old Spanish.Its design has been nominated in the Crystal Cabin Awards, known for highlighting the latest innovations inside the airplanes, and is based on the use of vertical space.

The ‘Chaise Longue’ project raises a double -level seat cab, with seats of seats that at the ground level with others high at a higher height.

The idea occurred to Alejandro Núñez Vicente who, after many trips in economic class suffering the consequences of measuring 1.90 meters and not having enough legs for the legs, discovered that raising the row of front seats would solve the problem.

"I wanted to get people to travel more comfortable in this can, which are the airplanes today," Núñez explains in an interview for Business Insider Spain.

The Madrid has just graduated from industrial design with technology at the Brunel University London, but it was during his Erasmus in the Netherlands when he could give life to this idea that began to take shape year and a half ago.

The young man designed everything from his room in Spain when he could not leave during confinement, always supported by the knowledge of his tutors from the Technical University of Delft.

Same capacity, but distributed differently

The project does not seek to increase passenger capacity on the plane, but keep it - "what is already enough for airlines because the measurements are very restricted and cannot lose seats" - making passengers more comfortable taking advantage ofThe vertical space.

"The space does not increase a lot, as if you were in Business class, but increases within what is the comfort of the aircraft," he says.

The lower row of seats allows passengers to recline and stretch their legs."It's much better to sleep and more comfortable.It works as a chaise longue sofa, hence the name, "says Núñez, who adds that the upper row also allows to recline and has more leg space.In addition, the seat incorporates adjustable support and drop -down cervical support.

The Chaise Longue project is designed for long -distance flights, in which the passenger needs to change posture, since in short radius that extra comfort would not be noticed.

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The design eliminates the upper compartment for the luggage, so the suitcases would be stored under the seats."It would not be worth the passengers to take advantage, as is the case now, and have too many packages.You can carry your hand suitcase and a bag or a coat, "he says.

Is it really viable?

Núñez says that it would not be necessary to replace the complete cabins to implement their design, since the seats could be installed in parts."In order to space the passenger cabin, you could put this type of seats.It has a place especially in the current medium and long distance aircraft, which are larger ".

On the other hand, and in terms of the investment that this would be for the airlines, Núñez explains that the current plane seats are frequentchange the entire row, not being modular."My design is modular, with which you can remove pieces inside the plane and replace with new ones without having to disassemble an entire seat row.Over time they would surely have profits compared to current seats, "he adds.

Asked about whether it is an adequate design for all types of passengers, the young man points out that he would not discriminate against those who had difficulties - as the elderly, children or people with obesity - to use the upper row while the one below has the same price and characteristics.

Núñez adds that the seats retract to facilitate access and emphas."People believe they will not fit, but they are designed to do.It has a lot of development and the measures are perfectly calculated, "he says.

According to Núñez, to date there have been hardly any proposals for vertical seats because they need much development and fundamentals."Development is much more complicated for security issues, such as rapid passenger extraction in case of emergency in less than 90 seconds.In the upper seats this would be a bit more complicated, so many things remain to be homologated, but in the future in the medium term there will be concepts of vertical space "..

In summer the prototypes begin

In summer the tests with prototypes that are already building will begin."That will be the real test to see if this makes sense, but we foresee that it will have a very good result," he says.

Although airlines have not yet been formally."We are open to all possibilities, both in Spain and outside," says the Madrid.

"This started as a student's project and look where he has arrived.There is still much to do, but I see a great likely that such a design ends up, "Núñez tells Business Insider Spain.