"Saddle" seats on airplanes

AIRLINES TRYING TO REDUCE FARES, CUT "FRILLS"

Flying is one of the most expensive forms of transportation.

Airlines are always looking for ways to make flying cheaper, so more people will choose it over less expensive types of transportation like trains or cars.

One way airlines reduce the cost of flights is to make passengers pay for any frills or extras such as meals, drinks, checked baggage and -- as with one airline in Europe -- even use of the washroom. Ireland's Ryanair makes passengers pay one British pound to use the bathroom on the plane with a coin slot in the side of the door.

Now, a company called Aviointeriors has invented a new type of airline seat. It gives passengers less leg room than traditional seats, allowing airlines to pack more people into a plane. More people per plane means a lower cost for each person's airline ticket.

The new seat resembles a saddle and provides just 58 cm of leg room compared with the 81 cm of leg room offered by traditional airline seats.

With the new seats, passengers would bear most of their weight on their legs, so the seats would only be useful for short flights, of no more than three hours.

The seats apparently feel like you're sitting in a saddle. They have a hook to hang your purse or coat on.

Several airlines have expressed an interest in purchasing the new seats.