Russian Airline Plans to Use ‘Stand up’ Seats

A woman uses her laptop on a flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, US, May 26, 2017. Picture taken May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
A woman uses her laptop on a flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, US, May 26, 2017. Picture taken May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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Russian Airline Plans to Use ‘Stand up’ Seats

A woman uses her laptop on a flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, US, May 26, 2017. Picture taken May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
A woman uses her laptop on a flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, US, May 26, 2017. Picture taken May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Pobeda, a Russian carrier, plans to take advantage of the “stand up travel” innovation, aiming to boost its revenues by increasing the number of passengers on its flights.

Russian media outlets reported that as part of this commercial view, the Aeroflot-owned Pobeda Airlines, plans to inaugurate a special section on its flights, in which the regular seats will be replaced with new “stand up” seats. But, those seats still have to acquire the necessary official approvals, and meet all the security and safety conditions. Commenting on the news, the company said it is studying several suggestions to increase the number of its cheap tickets.

The “Stand up seats” idea has been created by the Italian Aviointeriors, specialized in designing and manufacturing airplane seats. It is hoped that the new seats will allow more space on flights - up to 20 percent on board.

The seat, which is placed on a column, is composed of a thin cushion designed to fit the human body's structure while standing, allowing it to lean and reduce body weight pressure on the spine. In the middle, the “stand up seat” includes a part that resembles a horse saddle, designed to allow the passenger to stand in a "half-seated" position, that also help reduce the body weight’s pressure on the spine.

Engineers provided the seat with side arms, like those found in regular seats.

The US Civil Aviation Authority has rejected the idea of ​​"standup" seats, but airlines are trying to get approvals to use this type of seats on domestic short flights to increase the number of passengers, and thus, enjoy profit growth.



Italy’s Olympic Flag Bearer Tamberi Loses His Wedding Ring in the Seine River

Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)
Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)
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Italy’s Olympic Flag Bearer Tamberi Loses His Wedding Ring in the Seine River

Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)
Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)

Drama is never far from the surface when it comes to flamboyant high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi and big events.

This time it involved what went below the surface.

The Italian lost his wedding ring in the Seine River during the rainy opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

“I’m sorry my love, I’m really, really sorry,” Tamberi wrote in an open letter of apology he posted on Instagram on Saturday to his wife of two years, Chiara Bontempi.

“Too much water, too many kilograms lost over the last few months and maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing. Probably all three things,” added Tamberi, who shared flag-bearing duties for Italy with fencer Arianna Errigo during Friday's ceremony, which featured boats parading athletes instead of the usual procession inside a stadium.

Last month, Tamberi pretended to hide springs in his shoes when he won gold at the European Championships then jumped into the arms of Italy President Sergio Mattarella. And when he shared gold with his good friend Mutaz Barshim at the Tokyo Games, Tamberi celebrated wildly, which drew more attention than his performance.

Tamberi, along with Errigo, had the honor of flying to Paris on the presidential plane with Mattarella, which he called “the most emotional flight of my life” — a play on words with his jumping “flights."

Tamberi said he felt the ring sliding off his finger and saw it dropping as Italy cruised down the Seine on a boat with Israel and Jamaica.

“I followed it until I saw it bounce inside the boat,” he said. “But the rebound went in the wrong direction unfortunately. ... But if it had to happen, if I really had to lose this ring, I couldn’t imagine a better place. It will remain forever on the riverbed in the City of Love.”

Tamberi is favored to win another gold when the men’s high jump competition starts Aug. 7.

“Hopefully this is a sign that I’ll come home with an ever bigger gold medal,” he said.

Tamberi invited his wife to throw her ring into the Seine, too.

“Then they’ll be together forever,” Tamber said, “and we’ll have another reason to renew our vows.”