New Airplane Middle Seat Design to End the 'Elbow Wars'

Image: PHOTO: Interior of airplane with empty seats. (photo via Bychykhin_Olexandr / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Image: PHOTO: Interior of airplane with empty seats. (photo via Bychykhin_Olexandr / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:48 AM ET, Wed July 24, 2019

Getting stuck in the middle seat during a flight can be a nightmare for some travelers, but one company has developed a new design meant to alleviate that stress.

According to ABCNews.com, the new S1 Space Seat design was developed by Molon Labe Seating in Lakewood, Colorado, and lowers the middle seat a few inches and moves it slightly behind the aisle and window seats.

By lowering and moving the seat back, it adds about three inches to the middle seat.

"We were just trying to make it a bit less miserable," Molon Labe Seating CEO Hank Scott told ABCNews.com. "We chose the middle seat because no one loves the middle seat. We have solved the elbow wars."

The S1 Space Seat design was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration last month and designed for short-haul, low-cost airlines. The seats will be equipped with a smartphone and tablet holder, USB port and latchless table.

As for the armrests, they will be tiered so that the middle passenger uses the back end of the armrest while the aisle and window passengers use the front end. The company says one airline has already placed a large order and is in negotiations with two others.


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Donald Wood

Donald Wood

Managing Editor

Donald Wood is TravelPulse’s Managing Editor, bringing nearly 15 years of experience to the desk. He currently lives outside Philadelphia with his wife and two children.

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