Dutch company wins award for seat designed to accommodate larger passengers, or baby chair

A NEW design for airline seats to fit larger passengers has won a ‘Cabin Oscar’ for innovation in comfort. So will it take off?

Should airlines have fat seats?

AIRLINE carriers typically have on a one size fits all policy when it comes to their seats. But a new design is hoping to change all that by offering a seat for larger passengers.

The product is called the SANTO seat — an acronym for Special Accommodation Needs for Toddlers and Overweight Passengers.

The seat would be situated at the rear of the aircraft cabin where the fuselage narrows, occupying otherwise unused space.

The chair would be one-and-a-half times the width of a normal seat and could accommodate a baby chair which could be securely fastened while still leaving enough room for an adult passenger.

The designers claim that for overweight passengers, the seat would be safer than a standard economy chair.

The Dutch company responsible for the design took out the top prize in the “Passenger Comfort Hardware” category of this year’s Crystal Cabin Awards.

The awards are known as the “Cabin Oscars”and, according to their website, are “the only international award for excellence in aircraft interior innovation.”

News_Image_File: The SANTO seat.

By all accounts, the economy class seat in most airlines is shrinking with Airbus announcing this week they will squeeze an extra seat into each economy row of their new fleet.

Certain airlines, such as Samoan Air, have in the past have taken a different tact and actually charged their more rotund customers extra.

Airlines will typically try to move larger passengers to a spot where there is a free seat next to them however if the flight is fully booked, such a solution is not possible. But with the dual use of the SANTO seat, perhaps it’s time airlines began to incorporate more size diversity in their seating.