Airplane Design
 

I am an Interior Design student researching travel design and I would like to know from frequent travelers what their airplane pet peeves and favorites are. Also, have you thought of an improvement to solve a problem you often face - I'd like to know. Thanks!

I would like two across seating, more leg room, and seats that recline more without annoying the heck out of the person behind me.

Oh, where to start....
Seats - everyone wants more room between seats but that is unlikely to happen as carriers cram in as many as possible to maximize revenue. How about the shape of the seat itself? Lumbar support would be nice, so would some padding on the seat that doesn't get compacted after a little use.

Overhead storage - the extended bins that accommodate rollaboard bags lengthwise are great.

Lights - adjustable lights instead of the fixed ones that direct a beam over your shoulder

Single aisle cabins suck on long flights.

Can they use some sort of photreactive coating on the windows to deflect some of the glare?

Audio jacks that are located on the arm rest in a place that is hard to reach when sitting in the seat, and the plug digs in to your thigh. Can it go on the front of the armrest?

The adjustable height headrests with "wings" are great.

Check out Boeing's 787 interior preview -

http://tinyurl.com/meaon
Username: wdtpreview
Password: wdtpreview

Cool Gardy, I want one........
((D))8-)

A beverage holder that's deeper, sort of like cars have rather than that little indented thing on the folded tray.

Bathrooms that are bigger. There has to be a better way to lay those out.

Two things:
I have seen some people who are not big, but their stomach is. Maybe a little larger seatbelts or those similar to what the flight attendants have I like those.

The other thing is that on my airplanes that aisle seat arm does not go up. It would be nice if a person sitting there was able to lift that for more seat comfort and make it easier to get in and out.

Oh, one more thing. It would be nice if even the economies had a footrest even similar to what is one Amtrak.

Oh now I am thinking, THEATRE SEATS, that go up when a person gets up. (This would only work in economy I think)

I agree, more padding on the seat bottoms and some lumbar support and foot rests (air new zealand has them in coach)

as far as bathrooms, i just wish you didn't feel the "woosh" as strong as you do. it's just a little close for comfort for me. all the air in the bathroom gets sucked down too. i wish garbage was more of a priority in flight too. FA's should go around more often with garbage bags, instead of all that plastic and junk being left everywhere after the flight. it would increase turn around time too.
carrybean...i def. agree. those aren't drink holders as much as built in coasters or something. your drink is bound to go flyin'!
theater seats...brilliant idea!

In addition to other replies: The headrest. On some planes, the headrest is is so "plump" it pushes your head forward. I'm 5'7" - may be OK if I was a giant. They are horrible and their is NO WAY you can sleep unless you put your head on your chest - then you wake up with a stiff neck.

My biggest complaint about airplanes is actually the interior noise. Primary sources are 1) obviously engine noise, but 2) air circulation noise. I use noise cancelling headphones and they do a great job, but I'd really like to see some active cabin noise cancelling system implemented.

So the bottom line mrsrweiss, there is NOTHING that any passenger likes about the coach section of airplanes.

And with the economic problems airlines are having for various reasons I don't think the situation will improve.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I am being realistic.

And as far as favorites..landing and getting off the miserable plane, lol! And than praying that ones luggage arrived on the same flight..and when it does..just get out of the miserable airport and into some fresh outside air and take a big breath.

LvSun said it!!! Those stupid cushioned "head rests" that were obviously constructed with a 6'2" person in mind. Anyone shorter can't rest their neck on them and ends up cramped down in their seat, trying to avoid having your head jutted out for you.

I too am 5'7" and those things are the bane of my existance while travelling.

Several airlines have adjustable lumar supports in Coach/Economy, the airlines I use on a regular basis flying coash I have no problem with as comfortable good legroom, Singapore Airlines, Gulf Air, Emirates, Malaysian, Eva etc are all fine.

But when designing aircraft obviusly the size is a cost factor but even just an extra few inches in the cabin width cane make a world of difference, just adding a few inches would surely not cost much more in the construction but would add that extra comfort.

Also little has been done to considor that space under the seat in front, perhaps having the floor 'dip down' on an angle would give that extra space especialy on short hauls when very often the cargo bays are not fully used, that is a lot of wated space on a plane.

Those of us who are "vertically challenged" (5'02") would LOVE foot rests. Also head rests that don't push our heads forward. Long flights are agony for us!

There are two different issues here. One is the airframe design from the manufacturer, the other is how the airline decides to equip the interior.

First, the airframe itself. Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner has lots of stuff that are big improvements over planes flying for the last 40 years. These include larger windows, higher cabin pressure (so that the pressure is equivalent to around 5,000ft vs 7,000ft in other aircrafts) & higher humidity. Some other stuff are minor improvements like even larger overheads than those in the 777 or newer 747/767.

Another thing that can be improved is engine noise. The 787 may improve on this too, but I cannot say for sure. But among current aircrafts, many people appreciate the quietness of Airbus 330/340, which are slightly better than the 777; and all quieter than 747/767.

About cabin width. On a narrow-body aircraft like the 737/320 class, yes, a couple inches more will give a wider seat. Like the 320 is better than the 737. But on a wide-body aircraft, widening the fuselage is simply inviting the airline to put more seats. For example, the 747 was originally designed for 9-abreast and the 787 for 8. We know what happened.

Now, onto the interior and how the airlines outfit them. For entertainment, I think the current AVOD on many newer planes are more than adequate for even the longest hauls. And some airlines are testing inflight Wi-Fis. With those, and a good 110-240V standard power supply, I think that should satisfy everyone.

Seats are limited by the space they take. The airline will always try to put as many seats as they can. So, the question is how to make people the most comfortable in them. In coach, many airlines are starting to put seats which seat cushions slide forward when reclined. Giving one a better sleeping angle. For the seat manufacturer, they just have to keep working for the best compromise between seat back thickness vs comfort; seat cushion support vs comfort, etc.

I don't have a suggestion on how to correct this, but I just returned from Paris on an AF Airbus 340, and I was in the "fortunate" position of having the person in front of me recline the moment the plane leveled off and staying that way the entire trip (wide awake, by the way). Other than all of the obvious complaints I have about that situation, I also noticed that the reclined seat blocked the beam of the light, making it almost impossible for me to read my book without holding it up to nose level of the passenger to my right.

Other than the obvious "more leg room" and "wider seats", I'd suggest these:

Adjustable footrest - so you can put it up or down.

More head room in the seat areas - some of those are so short you are literally bent in half when you have to get up. I know don't get up until you can move out, but you still have to grab your stuff. Wait, never mind - I was going to say lower lights and air so you can reach them... I think there's a conflict there :)

Folding seats - makes it much easier to get in and out.

Adjustable headrest - so no matter what your height you're reasonably comfortable.

Definitely deeper cupholders!

Windows that match up to the seats. It is most annoying to specifically choose a window seat and have to look behind you the whole flight to see out.

Deeper under seat area - I like that idea of a slope, maybe a shallow U shape.

And, not sure how to do it, but food trays that don't move when the person in front reclines.

I recently stepped off a 737 and connected to an A-320 and as so little time between the width 'was' noticable, also the sides of the cabin were more 'straight' and that gave more shoulder room.

Here's an interesing one!

The cabin diameter of a 727 is the 'same' as that on a 737 yet the 727 always felt much more roomier, was that also because the cabin sides were more 'straight'.
toedtoes, I thought of that on a last flight, thinking if onnly where my feet were under the seat it dropped down a little the extra comfort there would be.

Amazing idea about 'folding seats' !!

Imagine how much easier to get in and out !

I have actualy seen some photos of a curved table, not sure where though.

It is a balance having a comfortable seat but keeping the depth as narrow to give that extra legroom. as rkkwan said the cabin size is one thing but the seat design is another!

707/727/737/757 all have the same fuselage diameter. I think the reason why the 727 feels more spacious is that since you last flew the 727, the average flying American has grown in size. :p

Headrests!!! Who were they made for? I would like to know if very tall people find them comfortable.

Quite a few years back Conde Nast Traveller magazine published an article about airline seating. They hired an industrial design firm in Amsterdam to design a new seat. According to the article airplanes had been redesigned many times since consumer air travel began but regardless of the advances in aerodynamics no one had ever thought to take a run at the "seat". It was a very interesting article and if my memory serves me correctly the industrial designers had the following suggestions for coach seating:

- they noted that the average foam padding of the seat was four inches deep. By ridding the seat of its padding and using a lighter fabric (like the webbing found on a Herman Miller Aeron office chair) you could reduce the space the seats took up. In a 737 this would result in adding two more rows. Or alternatively the extra space could be given to the passenger for a deeper pitch seat. Based on information given this change alone would recover the cost of implementing the new seating within a year.

- the also looked at the ergonomics of the seat recline. Apparently the current method of just reclining the seat back puts stress on the lower spine (must be why I prefer my seat upright). The suggestion was to have the seat pivot so that the seat base went up as the back sunk back -- similar to a good bucket seat.

- like one of the previous posters they also recommended seats which had the seat base flip up (like theatre seating) for ease of exit and entry, especially in an emergency.

- they recommended arm and head rests that were adjustable for height. The head rest also came with its own adjustable reading light.

That's as much as I could remember about the article -- but I often think about the recommendations as I'm stuck flying in a seat that was designed in the 1950's.

I think the seats flipping-up theatre style is good. the problem with making the seats 'thinner' is if the airline's just put in extra rows!
I sawa thread here a long while back with information about a company that had designed a new concept seating arrangement, not in a straight line but each seat a few inches bedinfd or ahead of the others.
Most airlines I use have a reasonable 34" pitch in coach luckily.

Some Amtrak train seats have neck/back cushions that slide up and down the seat back, so you can position them where you need them. Like many others here, I'm sick of having my head forced forward and down by neck-rests designed for 6-footers, and then nothing behind my lower back. (Added possible plus: the sliding cushion could also be flotation device?)

Hi! I am an airline interior design professional. The flip-up seat discussion struck my eyes. I would like to guide you to obtain more information regarding the recent improvements already in certification process at both Boeing and Airbus; as far as I know. The seat is great, and the solution is definately a winner. In relatively near future we may even have first installations; perhaps on a Dreamliner or on-board an A380 aircraft. Here's a link to an article on the internet. http://www.dexigner.com/product/news.html?q=flip-up+