Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Aviointeriors of Litina, Italy, garnered scads of attention and incredulous crowds at this week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Long Beach, Calif. Few attendees could walk by the company’s booth without doing a double take, then gingerly planting his or her posterior on the SkyRider ultra-high-density seat. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adMN1iv_eUQ&amp;feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">See the Skyrider seat on YouTube</a>.
The 23-inch-pitch seat looks like a cross between a miniature horse saddle and a thinly sliced seat back. The seat does not recline and the pitch so small that one’s knees are forced in constant contact with the seat in front. Elbow room is non-existent. The arms of passengers sitting in adjacent seats intrude into each person’s personal space.
The SkyRider saddle seat is not entirely uncomfortable, but it does feel strange to be sitting more or less upright, without being able to lean back, and having all of one’s weight on one’s posterior, instead of also distributed on the back and the thighs. While there is no room to crack open a laptop or unwrap a newspaper–indeed a big-bellied person would not even be able to lower the seat-tray–the seat backs do have space for an entertainment system display. An Apple iPad would come in handy between these seats, too.
Aviointeriors has been manufacturing airliner seats for 40 years and spent three years designing the SkyRider seats. Weighing less than half as much as normal economy class seats, the SkyRiders would allow an airline to fit in 14 percent more passengers, according to Fredrik Meloni, Aviointeriors regional manager, Asia. “Airlines are searching for solutions,” he said. “This could make a huge impact on revenue.”
However, although the company is in discussions with more than one airline about SkyRider, Maloni said the design is not necessarily a serious proposal as much as it is intended to provoke discussion and feedback.

High-density Seats Squish Penurious Passengers

Aviointeriors of Litina, Italy, garnered scads of attention and incredulous crowds at this week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Long Beach, Calif.

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