Talk about flying the not-so-friendly skies.
Overweight people of the world may one day be subjected to special seats.
Earlier this month, Airbus submitted a patent application for a “reconfigurable passenger bench seat.”
Basically, the European aircraft-manufacturing giant wants to equip planes with pews sporting collapsible arms and “adjustable” seat belts (read: loooooonger — like never-ending-scarves-up-a-magician’s-sleeve long) so seat rows can better accommodate various groups.
Families. Seniors. Ginormous blobs of human matter.
According to the rudimentary diagrams submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office, this would amount to — Quartz’s words — subway-ish (I prefer church-ish) arrangements: four to a row; three to a row, two big boys a row.
Does that mean that, along with their ID and liquids-free carry-on, one would be required to declare their weight upon purchasing a ticket?
Airbus, stand on high alert. The privacy and discrimination police are no doubt ready to cry foul as soon as this idea becomes reality.