Double Decker Seats - You Are Joking?

There is no way that double decker seats will fly. Why? claustrophobia for one and structural issues for two.

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The concept was shown again this year at the interiors show in Hamburg and is the brainchild of Alejandro Núñez Vicente.

We have taken Mr Vincente's thoughts from his Instagram page:

"I would like to thank everyone that has been supporting me and my project ever since it became “famous” one year ago after being nominated for the Crystal Cabin Awards.

"It has been a crazy adventure, full of experiences and trips all over the world, but also full of obstacles and challenges that little by little we have been able to solve and overcome.

"Today I can firmly say that I am proud of what I have achieved, but I am even prouder of all the people that have been helping and pushing me in any way because only thanks to them I stand where I stand today.

"I have seen a lot of reactions from the general public and the media about my seat concept, some of them have nice comments, and others have constructive advice and tips, which I am very grateful for! But to those “haters” and “journalists” who just criticise and try to bring me down just from seeing a couple of pictures (or outdated renders), I can tell you that you just prove how bored, unprofessional or small you are, and that I would have loved to see you where you were at 22 years old ?. I can say proudly that I HAVE PRESENTED MY PROTOTYPE AT THE BIGGEST AIRCRAFT INTERIORS EXPO OF THE WORLD (@aixexpo ), and IT HAS BEEN A COMPLETE SUCCESS!!

"I would also like to thank from the bottom of my heart to my investors and my sponsors AIRE (Aircraft Interiors Refurbishment España, S.L.) and 3DSeatMap VR - by RENACEN for your unconditional and generous support, without you it wouldn’t have been possible.

"On my last Instagram post, 5 years ago, I stated that “with enough time and dedication, everything is possible”. This is for all of you out there with a dream and the ambition to achieve it. NEVER STOP WORKING TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS.

"For all of those that believe that “I work for the airline industry” or that “I just want to make worse your experience in the economy class to pack more people in” I just can say, that my goal as a designer is to MAKE THE ECONOMY CLASS BETTER FOR ALL THOSE TRAVELLERS THAT CAN’T AFFORD MORE EXPENSIVE TICKETS.

"Watch me do it."

We at AirlineRatings.com wish Mr Vicente (above) the very best of luck and indeed any new designs are welcome for the airline industry.

Mr Vincente takes a swipe at critics but many of those critics have been covering aviation for over 40 years and know what works and what does not.

The major problem with the design is the claustrophobia aspect which is one of the major causes of fear of flying.

The other critical aspect is the structural one whereby all seats must be able to withstand a 16G crash. The additional weight and structure needed for double-decker seats would be very significant and pose a raft of problems for aircraft and seat designers.

The other aspect is airlines know where the money is - business class and premium economy - not in economy class.

Why add all that extra weight, which takes away from aircraft range and cargo for low-yielding economy passengers? That is the stark reality. Also while double-decker seating adds to passenger numbers aircraft are limited in the number they can carry by the number of exits. This style of seating would require more exits which take away seat space.

Sorry Mr Vicente, as shown, we do not believe this will fly.