Planes could end up looking more like buses as the design consultants “Design Q” have developed a revolutionary seating plan that it believes could be a winner for short-haul flights. 
The company got the idea from a school called Kingsland Primary School in Bucknall, Stock On Trent. The school had bought an old Short S-360 which they then wanted to convert to a class room. The school approached Design Q to come up with a seating plan inside the aircraft to best utilise the space.
Design Q are more used to working with the big airliners. They recently designed Cathay Pacific’s economy, business and first class seating. They have also worked with Virgin Atlantic on the redesign of their fully flat seating in Upper Class.
The new sideways seating plan for the short haul flights is not new as such because the military have been using this design for ages. However, if implemented this would be the first time civil aviation would have adopted this layout. Design Q believe it would be particularly suited for the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A319.
The design has a real practical edge because cleaning could be done quicker owing to the folding seats
The actual design of the seats is simple. There would be rows of seats that would fold up just like on the folding seats in London taxis. Each seat would still have its own seat belt. This style of cabin would also help fast turnaround of aircraft on the ground as the folding seats would simplify cleaning.