Just months after patenting a space-saving new airline seat design that resembled a row of bicycle seats, Airbus has come up with an even more outlandish idea.
The plane manufacturer has patented a revolutionary new design for an aircraft model which has a 360 degree seat configuration, much like a ‘theater in the round.’
It has already been dubbed as the ‘flying doughnut.’
Airbus says this design is a better use of space and can hold more seats than the usual ‘cylindrical geometry’ of current aircraft.
Airbus says the radical seat configuration helps ease the increased pressure at the front and back of planes.
"The purpose of the invention is particularly to provide a simple, economic and efficient solution to these problems," the patent application said.
The circular cabin means aisles would be curved rather than traditional straight aisles.
Diagrams presented with the patent application show boarding on escalators which leads to the center of the ‘doughnut.’
However it is unlikely to become reality anytime soon, with Airbus saying it is "not something that’s currently under active development."
Airbus has a highly productive and inventive research and development division and churns out over 600 patents a year – most of which never see the light of day.
