Named, very technically, “Passenger Seat Arrangement For A Vehicle” the patent features not just rows but layers of seats. While primarily designed for airplanes, the patent helpfully notes that it is suitable for other means of passenger transport, like buses or trains. While most airplanes are already densely packed, the patent observes that wide-body airplanes (think Boeing Jumbo Jets or the Airbus 330 family) aren’t utilized to their full economic potential. From the patent: It looks like this: For comparison, here is what seating looked like below decks in an ancient Greek trireme warship, where three rows of rowers were stacked on top of one another. For now, this seating arrangement is just an Airbus patent, and there’s no guarantee that it will work its way into a future airplane design. If it does, we can at least be thankful that passengers won’t be responsible for rowing the flight. Yet.
