Brits could face controversial standing seats on budget airlines 'next year'

Rumours are swirling that a new stand-up seat design that would allow airlines to cram more passengers onto could be taking off next year.

This week, reports have emerged claiming that the Skyrider 2.0 design will be installed in several European from 2026. Designed by Italian firm Aviointeriors, the seat set-up has been fascinating and appalling aviation enthusiasts in equal measure since it was unveiled at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, back in 2018.

The controversial seat comes with a reduced pitch, forcing flyers to adopt a more upright stance rather than the conventional sitting position. This innovation could see airlines bump up the density of passengers by a staggering 20%, which would hugely increase profit potential in a marketplace that works on very low profit margins, the company behind the design have claimed.

"The Skyrider 2.0 is an innovative seat, it allows an ultra-high density in the aircraft cabin. Skyrider 2.0 opens the travelling experience to a wider passenger market, creating also a useful space for the introduction of mixed classes boarded on the same aircraft," Aviointeriors claimed back in 2018.

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It's not just about squeezing in more people according to Aviointeriors. The company claimed that the state-of-the-art seat is both lighter and easier on the wallet, slashing maintenance costs with its 50% weight drop compared to standard economy seats and streamlined component list.

Passengers will find themselves perched in a saddle-like position, straddling the contraption, which appears more akin to leaning than lounging.

This week, claims about the commercial arrival of Skyrider 2.0 have been spread across various news outlets. The source seems to be the popular account Entrepreneurship Quote, which does a booming trade in business-related memes. The account posted: "In a bold move to reduce airfare expenses, several budget airlines will introduce standing-only seating options beginning in 2026. After extensive discussions, this unconventional seating arrangement has finally met regulatory requirements and passed safety evaluations."

The veracity of such claims is in doubt, however. Neither the UK's Civil Aviation Authority nor the Aviation Safety Agency appears to have approved the new design for commercial use, while Aviointeriors has not issued a statement regarding the alleged adoption of the Skyrider 2.0. The has contacted all three for comment.

There has been plenty of scepticism for years about whether saddle-style seats would ever be approved for use. Bill Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, argued that they would not pass safety standards.

“You look at it from a crash-readiness standpoint — there’s just no way,” the director of the Crash Lab at the university told the Washington Post. Mr Waldock questioned whether the seats would allow for the complete evacuation of a plane in 90 seconds, as the US Federal Aviation Authority requires.

George Hobica, who founded the , suggested that customers may not like the seat experience too much. “You’d have to be strapped in like Buzz Aldrin," he said. “I predict that we’ll see one airline, if only as a gimmick, install some of these someday. Not this year, not next year — but someday.”

If Mr Hobica's prediction is correct, then it may be Ryanair that takes the plunge first. The budget airline's chief Michael O’Leary has been vocal about his desire to use the ‘standing berths’. In 2012, he said he wanted his Boeing 737 and 800s fitted with 10 rows of them and 15 rows of traditional seats.