SkyRider airplane "seats" for flying standing-up

http://www.gadling.com/2010/09/13/skyrider-airplane-seats/

http://gizmodo.com/5636118/i-dont-ever-want-to-sit-on-these-skyrider-airplane-seats

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-09-10-airlinestanding10_ST_N.htm

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-09/please-dont-let-be-future-air-travel

The SkyRider's creator insists that it is, in fact, a seat and not a way to trick standing passengers into thinking that they are not, in fact, still vertical. Before you go into a full-fledged panic though, it's worth noting that these seats have many hurdles to jump before finding themselves inside airplanes.

The SkyRider seats will be unveiled next week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach. It's intended to be seating for a new budget "class" (below Coach obviously) and airliners are supposedly interested. I hope it's not serious cause the SkyRider seats only give 23 inches of leg room. Here's what the director behind the design group has to say about the Skyrider seats:

"For flights anywhere from one to possibly even up to three hours ... this would be comfortable seating," he says. "The seat ... is like a saddle. Cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle."

An FAA spokesperson said, "While it's not impossible, it's difficult to conceive of a standing seat that would be able to meet all applicable FAA requirements and still be cost-effective."