New plane seat design declares an end to the 'elbow wars'

The design features a seats of varying height and width
The design features a seats of varying height and width. Photo credit: Molon Lab Seating

A brand new design that claims to solve the issue of the dreaded middle seat on aeroplanes has been approved in the US.

The innovative alignment of seats, created by Colorado start-up Molon Lab Seating, claims to give passengers more comfort - even if they are selected to squeeze between two other passengers.

The 'S1 Space Seat' does this by providing 7.6cm of extra width, placing the middle seat slightly behind and below its neighbours and also staggering the armrest to provide access to all three potential passengers.

The design was approved by the US Federal Aviation Authority in June, and one undisclosed airline has ordered enough seats to fill 50 planes.

"That little bit of stagger means that every single person gets to spread out a little more," Molon Lab Seating CEO Hank Scott told CNN.

"No seats are any smaller, one seat ends up being wider, and we've solved the elbow wars," Scott added.

The "elbow wars" are apparently ended via its armrest's staggered shape - lower at the back and higher at the front. That allows the aisle and window passengers use of the front of the armrest while leaving space at the back for the middle passenger.

However, there is a downside to the new design. These seats are only for short-haul flights, don't offer extra leg-room and do not recline.

Scott told TODAY his company will start installing the seats on planes in April 2020.

Newshub.