A wild new economy seat design has shocked the world at the 2023 Crystal Cabin Awards. Entered as a “multi-cabin concept,” the design gets rid of the need for middle seats in cattle class. How? Instead of having three rows of people three abreast (or, as in the case of larger jets, a row of three, a row of four and then another row of three) in economy, this design splits economy passengers into three tube shaped pods.

Each pod has a 2-2 configuration, with an aisle down the middle, so no one has to suffer the indignity of clambering over their neighbour to relieve themselves in the middle of the night (read: equal aisle access for all).

CNN Travel reports that this design comes from the Spanish company Taller De Arquitectura T36, and that the company imagines the design being endowed with both real and virtual windows. The design could be quite attractive to airlines too, as it would fit more passengers. It’s not all dollar bills and leg spreading room, however. 

There are concerns over the concept’s safety, particularly over where the emergency exits would go, especially with there being a ‘tube’ of people essentially crammed up into the ceiling. 

Other interesting concepts shortlisted for this year’s Crystal Cabin Awards included Air New Zealand’s enticing looking Skynest (bunk beds installed in “islands” around the economy section of the plane, able to be booked for certain periods of the flight), Lufthansa Industry Solutions’ “waste app” that uses artificial intelligence to tell the airline what passengers are turning their noses up at, and Skyted’s noise-cancelling mask (which, with more and more airlines sorting out in-air wifi, promises to be a useful addition to any cabin).

Tune in on the 6th of June to see which designs will take out the award for each eight categories, with the competition organisers lifting the curtain on the winners in Hamburg during the Aircraft Interiors Expo.

This story originally appeared on escape.com.au. It has been reproduced here with permission. 
Related story: The biggest changes coming to travel in 2023 you need to know about