Adjustable Morph airplane seats by Seymourpowell could revolutionise air travel

SICK of spending a long-haul flight squished up against your fellow passengers? These adjustable seats could be the key to total bliss when up in the air.

The aim is to morph airplanes to suit passengers' individual needs. Picture: SeymourPowell.

THE days of squeezing into a tiny plane seat for a painful long-haul flight may be numbered.

And you won't have to fork out the big bucks for business or first class tickets, just so you can get some decent shut-eye.

A British design firm has created a prototype of an adjustable airplane seat called Morph, which quite literally morphs to best serve those who are sitting in it.

Here's how it works:

Instead of using hard plastic, foam or metal, the designers at Seymourpowell made sets of seats out of fabric. A single sheet is stretched across the width of all the seats in a row, around a frame, and over formers.

The fabric is clamped down by the armrests and the upper dividers, to form three individual "hammock" seats, according to Morph's demonstration video.

The "hammock" seats are adjustable according to the needs of different passengers. Picture: SeymourPowell.

The soft fabric makes it easier for the seat to be adjusted. Passengers can recline in their chair without disturbing the person behind them, and can individually control the height and depth of their seat, "morphing the fabric to provide a tailored fit, and greater comfort".

Because a single sheet of fabric is being used across all three seats, the dividers can be unclamped and moved to adjust the width of each individual seat.

The seats can be adjusted to suit the needs of different passengers. Picture: SeymourPowell.

The idea is that people only have to pay for the amount of space they take up. The plane can be arranged by people's willingness and ability to pay for space, blurring the boundaries between the classes.

"Passengers who can afford premium, business or first class have a choice and hence some control over their own experience," Seymourpowell's head of transport Jeremy White, told The Verge.

"Morph is a solution - a standard product that meets the needs of lots of different kinds of people."

If a family was travelling together, for example, a mum, dad and infant could pre-book a large, medium and small seat.

A better fitting seat is not only more comfortable, but safer and reduces the health risks, according to Seymourpowell.

"We believe the future of air travel is personal, even in the cheap seats".

Bring it on.

What do you think of these adjustable seats? Do you think they will make the in-flight experience more pleasant?

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