Here's what it might be like to travel on a stand-up aeroplane seat
First things first: Gaetano Perugini, engineering adviser at Aviointeriors, is keen to stress that the concept's not about creating "cattle class" and cramming in as many passengers in as possible.
Named the 'Skyrider', the newest seat design is currently on display at the in Aircraft Interiors Expo 2019 in Hamburg, Germany, and promises to attract plenty of attention from airlines looking to increase the number of seats in the economy class sections of planes, apparently without compromising on comfort.
The design was first proposed back in 2010, but had some structural issues that prevented it from taking off.
The Skyrider takes up way less space than the average economy seat -- just 23 inches -- so the idea is airlines could cram in their economy seats, and still allow other passengers to book other kinds of tickets on the same flight.
Even Perugini acknowledges it's not necessarily an enjoyable experience, but he reckons for short haul, say a brief hop across Europe, it might work.
Several airlines have already expressed an interest according to Dominique Menoud, director general of Aviointeriors Group: 'We feel extremely confident that this concept will have great appeal to airlines for economic purposes.'
They would be restrained with a strap stretching over their shoulder, the budget airline said. But the bizarre initiative ran into an immediate obstacle. European aviation safety regulators said the perches would not meet safety rules.
If a European carrier commits to installing the seats on their aircraft then the company would apply to aviation authorities for proper certification, said Menoud.