"In a crash, these seats will take more strain from the passenger than the more common forward-facing seats and thus need more support from the floor below," Dan Boland, an Airbus A350 pilot, told Reader's Digest in May 2022. So, why aren't more airlines using rear-facing seats on their aircraft?Īirlines are likely to be hesitant because backward-facing seats ultimately cost more money. The 1952 article said the Navy decided to install these seats after "testing showed they gave passengers much more protection for the entire back, neck, head and parts of the arms and legs in sudden stoppages." Richard Snyder, a retired research scientist who studied crash protection and transportation safety at the University of Michigan, told the Smithsonian magazine in October 2009 that "the basis for providing aft-facing seating impact crash protection is substantial and supported by over half a century of experience."Īccording to the Smithsonian, an article in the December 1952 edition of Naval Aviation News explained that "passengers in Navy transport planes have ten-fold better chances of coming out of crashes alive, thanks to backward-facing seats," which were being installed on their new planes at the time. Rear-facing seats may also be safer for passengers.
One reason may be that backward-facing seats can offer better usage of space on a plane, allowing the airline to accommodate more passengers. The study said: "Since children appear willing to face rearward, rear-facing seating in school buses and other vehicles might be acceptable to them and provide safety benefits as #flying #traveltiktok #plane #travelvlog ♬ original sound - vxrtzs Why Do Some Planes Have Rear-Facing Seats?Ī caption shared with the latest viral TikTok post simply asked: "Why." A study of the metro rail system in Washington, D.C., published online in 2011 in the American Journal of Public Health, found that "only 25 percent of adults faced rearward, compared to 66 percent of children." Seats facing each other aren't uncommon on trains, where they appear to be more of a popular preference for kids than adults.
While it might seem unusual, rear-facing seats have been used by some airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, who tweeted an image of the carrier's throwback rear-facing seats in 2021.īackward-facing seats have been offered in business class for some airlines, such as United, American Airlines and British Airways. A video of an unusual seat setup on flight with a regional Swedish airline has gone viral on TikTok. A stock image of colorful, orange-patterned seats on a plane.
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