The double-level seat is back with the ‘ultimate, final statement’ design

By Francesca Street, CNN

(CNN) — The double-level airplane seat concept is back, this time in what designer Alejandro Núñez Vicente calls the “ultimate, final statement.”

Premiering first as a college project in 2020, then as an early prototype in 2022, over the past several years this dual-level design — called Chaise Longue — has inspired frequent social media frenzy, memes aplenty and fervent discussion everywhere from late-night chat shows to internet comment sections.

But for Núñez Vicente, the double-level airplane seat isn’t “some joke on the internet that started five years ago.” It’s his career — a passion project he remains excited about over half a decade since he first sketched out the idea in his college bedroom.

The Chaise Longue concept envisages removing the airplane’s overhead cabin to allow for two rows of seating, a top and a bottom level, with the bottom level designed to allow passengers to stretch out and enjoy extra legroom.

Prospective travelers have expressed claustrophobia fears (fears echoed by CNN Travel when we tested the design in 2022 and 2023) and eyerolled at the idea the design is a ploy to cram more passengers into the cabin. Núñez Vicente says increasing passenger capacity has never been his objective, but admits it’s a potential draw for airlines. The designer’s always been adamant his aim is to make flying more comfortable.

He’s spent his twenties fine-tuning the concept alongside his life and business partner Clara Service Soto (“It makes us feel kind of old,” 26-year-old Núñez Vicente says of the years that have passed since Chaise Longue first made waves). The couple regularly consult with airline CEOs and aviation insiders, whom they say see real potential in the design, despite internet naysayers.

Now Núñez Vicente has returned to Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, one of the world’s biggest aviation shows, to showcase the latest full-scale mock-up of his design — which he says is the best version of the concept yet.

“This is the ultimate mock-up that we can create at our level of a startup,” Núñez Vicente tells CNN Travel in an exclusive first look at the new mock-up over video call from Hamburg. “This is our best.”

Tackling privacy and space issues

While Núñez Vicente laughs off social media jokes focusing on upper-level travelers passing wind as “banter and fun,” he does scan comments for constructive criticism, and he noted privacy and space-focused concerns were frequent refrains.

With that in mind, the newest version of the concept focuses on improving privacy and increasing seat pitch for lower-level travelers. Chaise Longue’s latest mock-up includes a panel that stretches out behind the seats on the top level, meaning better separation and reduced likelihood of anyone dropping anything on anyone else.

And while previous mock-ups have included a tighter lower level — potentially perfect for travelers who just want to stretch out and sleep, less appealing for anyone else — the new design imagines a much roomier bottom section.

“It has changed quite a lot from the narrow distance that you used to see before,” says Núñez Vicente. “It was kind of claustrophobic in the beginning.”

Concerns the seat design wasn’t accessible have also been taken into account. The front row of the concept is now aimed at people with reduced mobility, inspired by in-the-works designs that allow wheelchair users to remain in their personal wheelchairs for the duration of a flight.

“We want to create space on our own concept for these kinds of innovations also, because we think it’s really important to include all passengers,” says Service Soto.

Walking around the mock-up on video call, Núñez Vicente demonstrates how the seat pitch is now spacious enough for passengers to do standing hamstring stretches. He even sees potential for a lie-flat bed in the middle seat and the new mock-up shows how that might work.

Budget versus premium design

Making the design more roomy does mean potentially sacrificing the seat’s budget class credentials. Núñez Vicente was a broke college student when he first designed Chaise Longue. At 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters), Núñez Vicente was used to struggling for legroom in cramped economy seats, and started dreaming of a cheap, comfortable seat offering space to stretch out.

“But we have been moving the concept towards more of a premium economy experience,” says Núñez Vicente. “We have met directly with airlines and airline executives, CEOs and their customer experience departments, and they told us exactly what they wanted — and they wanted this seat to be something more than just economy.”

In 2024, Núñez Vicente also showcased an “elevated class” concept at AIX, a slightly different, first class concept that keeps the dual-level concept but opts for lie-flat beds and couch-style seating throughout. But making his original concept a more premium offering is a departure from Núñez Vicente’s initial vision and this was initially a “tough” pill to swallow, the designer admits.

“Obviously we wanted this to be for everyone,” he says. “At the end of the day, you want to go from point A to point B. And normally, if you are in the 99% of the population in the world, you just want to get there and pay as little as possible. We wanted people who cannot afford to travel better to actually get a better experience and more space.”

It’s hard, he says, to shift the aviation industry mindset that innovation happens almost exclusively in the premium cabins. Airline economy classes are largely identical, whereas business class and first class come in more varied, swanky forms — from Singapore Airlines’ double bed suite in the sky to Emirates’ virtual reality windows.

Several years in, Núñez Vicente is more clear-eyed about this industry reality.

“In this day and age, with this industry and airlines, they are not going to give passengers in the economy more space — it’s going to lean more towards premium economy, and that’s what we have seen,” says Núñez Vicente.

But he hopes this premium economy concept is the “revolution that leads to the evolution” — and if a pricier double-level design got off the ground first, he figures it’d lead to a more budget version eventually.

Either way, Núñez Vicente doesn’t propose regular airplane seating go out the window all together. The idea, says Núñez Vicente, is Chaise Longue’s premium economy seats in the middle of a wide-body aircraft cabin, flanked by regular economy seating on either side.

A long way to go

Exactly how any of this would work is up to airlines and aviation companies, none of whom have committed to producing the seat. Retrofitting aircraft is expensive and time-consuming, and safety and regulation procedures to approve new designs are longwinded and complex, so it’s unlikely you’ll see the Chaise Longue seat on an airplane near you anytime soon.

But industry bigwigs continue to sniff around the concept — last year, an Airbus representative told CNN Travel that “Chaise Longue is exploring some early stage concepts with Airbus on two-level seating solutions for Airbus commercial aircraft.”

Calling this current mock-up the “final statement” for Chaise Longue’s current iteration as a start-up, Núñez Vicente says he hopes he might secure partners at AIX 2026 and be able to showcase a pre-production prototype at next year’s aircraft interior expo, calling that outcome “the ideal scenario.”

“Pre-production means that it’s already been manufactured using the techniques and the manufacturing methods that you would use on the final aircraft seats,” he explains, noting the current mock-up is for demonstrative purposes and is made out of materials that cannot fly.

The designer is also always experimenting with other ideas behind the scenes too.

“I’m on 20 different projects at the same time,” he explains. “This one is the biggest one, for sure. But at the same time, during the past two years especially, we have developed some side quests.”

Sticking with one main concept for several years — especially one that’s not without its controversies — is sometimes a “rollercoaster,” says Núñez Vicente. But he says improving the passenger experience and continuing industry affirmation is what keeps him going.

He also enjoys seeing prospective travelers engage in the concept, both on and offline. Chaise Longue spent much of 2025 passenger testing in Núñez Vicente’s home city, Madrid, getting travelers’ takes on the pros and cons.

“We always learn from constructive feedback. It doesn’t matter if it’s an airline CEO or someone in Australia that just comments on it and gives you something that you have to think about,” says Núñez Vicente.

And Núñez Vicente laughs along with the humorous comments — which he says don’t seem to be offputting to the aviation industry.

“If the industry hasn’t rejected us because of these funny comments on social media, then it might be because we have something actually good going on behind the scenes,” he says.

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