Editor’s Note — Monthly Ticket is a new CNN Travel series that spotlights some of the most fascinating topics in the travel world. In June, we’re taking to the skies for a look at the latest developments in plane interiors, including the people working to change the way we fly.
(CNN) — You might not know that the standard for today’s airline seat sizing goes all the way back to 1954.
That’s when Boeing first flew the prototype that would lead to the jet age’s iconic 707.
As Boeing developed its aircraft families, it reused core elements like the fuselage, even as it developed new wings and engines.
For instance, the 727 was essentially a 707 but with the engines at the back. The 737 — still manufactured today — was and is essentially a 707 but with two engines instead of four.
The 707’s seats, arranged with six in each row in “tourist” or “coach,” as economy used to be called, were pretty good for 1954, but that was nearly 70 years ago.
You might not know a lot of people who were adults in 1954, but if you do, make the most of their impressive longevity and compare their general size and stature next to a strapping, well-nourished 18-year-old of today.
All things being equal, you’ll probably note that people these days are quite a bit bigger — taller, with wider shoulders and wider hips.
But the Boeing 737 — which has a fuselage width of 148 inches (3.76 meters), just like the 707s — still seats six people in every row.
No wonder planes seem more cramped today, even the slightly wider Airbus A320s, which tends to offer an 18″ seat, or the A220 (designed by Bombardier as the C Series), which offers 19″.
Top: A Boeing 707, the aircraft maker’s first jetliner. Bottom: A Boeing 737-800 in Hanover, Germany, in 2013.
Getty Images, Getty Images
But what if these single-aisle airplanes were just, well, bigger? That’s a question that aviation interior consultancy LIFT Aero Design is asking with a concept called Paradym.
Managing Director Daniel Baron and design partner Aaron Yong are refreshingly open that Paradym really does need a new paradigm: wider planes.
“Paradym is a configuration concept for the next generation of single-aisle aircraft,” Baron tells CNN.
“It adopts a higher standard of comfort in economy class using wide triple seats. What’s totally different is the idea of a new single-aisle aircraft that is considerably wider than today’s 737 or A320 families.
“Every row in Paradym would have wide triple seats, with 20 inches between armrests…
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