This Airline Seat Brings a Whole New Meaning to Cattle Class

A couple months ago I blogged about Ryanair's vertical seat concept that Michael O'Leary, CEO of the budget carrier, hoped would boost revenue for the airline. EU regulators vetoed the standing seat design, but a new "saddle seat" recently unleashed at a California trade show may be just what O'Leary is looking for--and give a whole new meaning to the term "cattle class".

Unfortunately, the picture above is not taken for a SNL sketch or The Onion. Designed by Aviointeriors Group, the "Skyrider" seat is modeled after a saddle. The logic behind the seat was simple: people have no trouble riding horses for long periods of time, so let's design a seat that feels like you're sitting on a horse.

I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy sitting on a horse for five hours straight (and look at the picture above--does that look like the position you're in when you ride a horse?). Seat pitch is a whopping 23" inches, but at least you won't have to worry about passengers reclining in front of you.

Ryanair's proposed standing seat was vetoed because the EU mandates that passengers be provided a "seat" onboard a plane. While the Skyrider looks terribly uncomfortable to me, it is a seat. Ryanair may have found a winning design...