For some reason, I am always surprised at how plush the interiors of aircraft used to be. With their gorgeous cloth seats and well thought out colour schemes, it certainly was a more luxurious way to fly.
Today of course we “enjoy” bland coloured seats clad in faux leather with plastic lightweight surrounds. It’s a far cry from the comfort that used to be par for the course.
How plush is this?
Ahh, the 1980s. An era of shoulder pads, sharp angled clothing and high flying corporate takeovers that, among other things, destroyed several airlines. When flying up front on short-haul services, you were guaranteed some gorgeous seats.
Yes, the seats feature a middle seat free, but it’s so much more luxurious than what we have today. It’s quite a shame that someone didn’t keep examples of all these seats so we could try them out somewhere.
Overall Thoughts
While long-haul premium seating has advanced markedly to be the best it’s ever been, the same can’t be said for short-haul. Decreasing seat pitch means thinner seats to save space, so we’ve probably never had it worse from a comfort and aesthetic perspective.
Luckily we have photographic record of some of the plush seats from the past to drool over. I would have loved to have tried them out, but sadly I was not quite old enough to do so.
What are the best short-haul seats you remember sitting in? Which airline and when? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Daniel Tanner.
Air New Zealand seats by Mannering and Associates.
Improved fire resistance standards in the late 1990s/early 2000s killed the plush fabric seats
What a crying shame then!