Boeing wants to cram 12 seats per row in business class

The airlines have made it about as tight as humanly possible in economy class (or so we hope), so what's the next logical step to cramming more seats onto planes? Well, Boeing has set its sights on squeezing more seats into business class, too. According to Australian Business Traveller, The aircraft manufacturer has filed a U.S. patent application for a 12-across seating layout that could be selected by airlines when they outfit their cabins.

The most striking change to the proposed design is that it involved having three aisles instead of the standard two, creating a 3-3-3-3 setup with some passengers facing backwards. The patent application does include other possible layouts as well, also featuring the option for 2-6-2 seat configurations with two aisles.

While it is not unusual to have business class passengers facing backward, 10 to 12 passengers per row would be a dramatic change, especially considering some airlines — like Delta and Swiss — have four passengers per row in many business class setups (often staggered 1-2-1). At the more crammed end, United and British Airways have planes set up in a 2-4-2 seating plan.

In Boeing's proposed plan, four unlucky passengers would end up in a "middle seat," although the alternating forward-backward seating arrangement could make it a bit less intrusive to climb over someone.

Boeing's plan does not eliminate flat-bed seating for business class, but the seats would taper toward the foot, meaning that passengers would have to sleep on their side to be most comfortable. Considering the cost of a seat at the front of the plane, it would be interesting to see what such a seating layout would do to demand. Of course, there is no guarantee this plan will ever come to fruition.

Boeing spokesperson Doug Alder told RWV, "Boeing files many patents every year that protect our intellectual property, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we end up pursuing them."