Flying economy may be about to get even worse

Let's face it, rubbing shoulders with someone you don't know and having to awkwardly squeeze past them when you need to go to the loo is already one of the worst things about flying.

But now, in some kind of warped bid to get rid of this form of social awkwardness, things are about to get a whole lot worse: you might actually have to make eye contact with your fellow passengers.

At least that's if a frankly horrifying patent application is approved. Zodiac Aerospace, a French aeroplane equipment supplier, wants to introduce its HD31 concept: a "high density" seating plan with "business class width".

It's a different way of travelling, with people facing each other. We can have nice conversations.

• Pierre-Antony Vastra, vice-president of Zodiac

According to the company, airlines have shown interest in this new "economy class cabin hexagon" - folding seats that would see passengers alternately packed into rows of four.

The company claims the project "offers a solution to the issue of increasing the number of passengers in the cabin of a single-aisle airliner" while offering passengers approximately 15 per cent more room...

The one shining light for passengers is that while the patent application has been submitted, it may be turned down. As Wired notes: "It would have to pass a battery of tests, including passengers’ ability to quickly evacuate, and the seats’ capacity to withstand 16g forces in the event of a crash."

Fingers crossed.

See the future of air travel (in horrifying detail) below:

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