Design portable, easy to install and uninstall seats. E.g. say 60% of seats are booked, the airline could uninstall 40% of seats on the plane before flight takes off. 

Benefits:

1) Save energy: 40% less weight from seats will save gasoline usage. 
2) More space for passengers: The empty space from 40% seats will provide passengers space to stretch during the flight time. 
3) Build a great reputation for airlines: Gaining eco-friendly reputation from save energy; gaining customer focus reputation by providing a more comfortable flight experiences to customers; gaining innovation reputation by applying this new idea.

submitted by
Vicky Garay

Commercial aircraft seating needs to have more support for the lower section of your back. During a flight that is longer than 2 hours it becomes extremely uncomfortable to be sitting straight up as it puts pressure on your back. If there was extra cushioning where your lower back meets the seat, there would be less need to recline the seat because you can now sit comfortably without constantly moving to get more comfortable (a problem for me). The seat cushioning should get bigger as it gets closer to the lower part of your back because there is more stress in that area when sitting. This option shouldn’t be for only business class but for the entire plane. By increasing the slight angle of a persons recline, they are less likely to recline the seat afterwards.

submitted by
Justin

Idea: $20 charge to recline your seat on an airplane. $10 credit if you choose not to recline. Also $10 credit if someone reclines on you.

submitted by
Craighton

Create a research based airline that partners with companies that need focus groups, user testing and the like. Consumers could get a reduction in price, while the sponsoring companies would get the information that they’re after. Consumers would be choosing to take the research airline, avoiding the problem of pressuring people. The testers would/could feel productive while flying – that they’re putting their time to good use. One could potentially choose a flight based on destination as well as product test: “Hmm…let’s see, I need to go to NYC, and they’ve got three tests/groups to choose from: the next version of Windows; new form factors from Coke; and a new app from Gilt. I’m a fashion oriented person, so I’ll take the flight to NYC and the user testing for Gilt, plus $75 off my flight!”

submitted by
Stacey Fischer

Train Travel: Design a train car that has a small siting/sleeping/freshen-up compartment (with view windows, of course) in the front of the car, and a personal vehicle “garage” in the rear of the car. The private compartment would be sized and available for only the traveler/family or traveler/companions. This privacy would provide a more relaxed and comfortable travel experience. By traveling with thier vehicle, the traveler will have ready transportation at their destination or the ability to complete their trip to a location the does not have direct train service. They may even use this type of travel for only a specific portion of their trip (say, crossing the wide State of Texas, or for night time travel).

submitted by
Lee Baker

Travel is such a significant part of life, that major travel plans should be a nice experience overall. There’s nothing more frustrating than having flight problems or delays which are often inevitable. It would be a great thing to bring customers a truly unique and thankful experience. It could be something simple like a GENUINE thank you note from an employee, especially if someone was having a truly bad experience. It’s little things like that, that make will make someone’s day.

submitted by
Wade Fasano

Board the window seat passengers first, then the middle row, then the aisle. This would avoid the awkward “that is my seat” point that forces the two other passengers, already settled in their seats, to get up and maneuver around to allow the window passenger to their seat. It seems simple enough to just adjust the boarding groups accordingly to speed up the boarding process and reduce the aisle congestion.

submitted by
Emily Lukken

Economy Sleeper. Cost is double the Coach, but less than Business, and you get to sleep horizontally on a bunk bed featuring: Horizontal seatbelt, luggage compartment (at the bottom) personal light, sheer privacy pull-down screen, fold-out table (contains feet), entertainment TV screen. 12 beds fit in the space for 24 seats. Instead of service, you get clean sheets/blanket and a pillow. No more waking up your neighbor to go to the loo!

submitted by
Fumi Watanabe

For those who’s main mode of transportation is a bike, or travel cross country by bike it is nice to be able to take with you when you take the city bus. You mount it on the front of the bus, get where you need to go and then hope back on your bus and ride off. I ride public transit for a total of 2 hours a day and have been finding it difficult to bike to work due to roads that are not so bike friendly. I also have a hard time finding time getting into the gym.

Imagine instead of sitting in a plane or train seat for a 1-3 flight you could sit on your own bike as a seat. The bike would be locked into place and acted a stationary bike, where you can, break a sweat, bike along other biker/ health conscious individuals. When you aren’t biking, you can stretch or rest in a designated stretching or seating area. When you arrive to your final destination by plane or train, you simply unlock your bike from stationary mode and ride off to your destination.

submitted by
Kevin Do

Long flights are a fact of life, especially international travel. Make life easier for those with hours between connections: install more relaxation stations for the weary traveler. 

submitted by
Maureen Salahshoor

I know! Pump the cabin full of sleeping gas* and everyone can stop ‘n’ snooze. Just stop. Take a nap. Don’t fuss with your devices and I won’t fuss with mine. Buckle up and breathe in…and then breathe out. Repeat. After a time, welcome to your final (or “for now”) destination. [A few asides: I can get from one end of the U.S. to the other for under $500; it costs $40 to take a cab to the airport in my town -- and it takes forever on public transportation. Air travel is incredible (i>heart<physics) and cheap, in my opinion. Lastly, I really empathize w/ TSA staff: All that noise (beep and clatter) along with those hideous uniforms, too. Uh. What a nightmare. I am sure they work for peanuts. Give them a break.] * Or laughing gas and if so, revisit the above scenario.

submitted by
O’lady

Problem: Rows of seats on an airline are placed closely together to get as many seats on the plane as possible, but this makes it difficult to get in and out of these tightly-spaced rows because, in addition to there not being much headroom, there isn’t much space front to back between the rows of seats either. You end up having to attempt to walk sideways due to the tightly-spaced rows, while also remaining in a seated position and hunched over slightly because the seats in front of you are leaning back slightly and there isn’t much headroom either—quite a feat for even a contortionist! It’s very awkward.

Solution: Seats that fold up for exiting or entering your seat. Even a few inches gained front-to-back would make a big difference in getting in and out of tightly-spaced rows of seats.

submitted by
Stefan McIntosh

Parents do not want to be the pariahs of air travel! Contrary to the beliefs of all of the non-parent passengers who roll their eyes, sigh heavily, and act more like a toddler than the actual toddlers, parents also do not want to have their baby crying during the flight, or their toddler bursting into a temper tantrum. In fact, most parents go through many unseen preparations to be sure their child won’t be the reason why everyone on the plane hates them. +

submitted by
Bambi Chavez

I use travel as a conduit to my final destination. In fact, it’s not just a destination, it’s a purpose. It’s visiting loved ones. It’s attending my sister’s graduation. It’s having a college friends reunion, closing that business deal, backpacking through Europe, a wedding, the thrill of an island getaway. What if travel didn’t distract from that final purpose, but embraced it? Customize the door-to-door experience to enhance your overall purpose. +

submitted by
Diane Lee

A simple idea for airlines: How bout a little compensation for the agony of having to endure a middle seat? Something as small as a free movie could leave a great lasting impression. 

submitted by
David Wykes

Problem: Rows of seats are placed close together to get as many seats on the plane as possible, but this makes it difficult to get in and out of these tightly spaced rows because, in addition to not being much headroom, there isn’t much space front to back between the seats either.

Solution: Seats that fold up for exiting or loading. Even a few inches would make a big difference in getting in or out of a tightly spaced row of seats.

submitted by
Stefan McIntosh

Lately I’ve been seeing more and more these type of signs that reward passengers who don’t need to use overhead bin space with priority boarding.

Over the holidays many airlines encouraged travelers to “check-in” their luggage at the gate for free giving them the same priority boarding privileges. Interestingly enough, the flights that I ended up being on didn’t even remotely leverage all their overhead stowage capacity. This leaves me wondering; other than trying to avoid delays due to slow boarding when passengers need to check-in their bags once on board, what’s the business model here? +

submitted by
Philipp

Even today I remember my way back home to New Delhi from Bangalore. I was too tired and struggled to sleep. The agony was the fact that every time I was about to sleep, my head would slip and rest on the woman’s shoulder sitting next to me. It was an embarrassing situation, but I was helpless.
From that day I thought if someone designed head rests like arm rests the advantages would be:

1) You will have your own confined space inspite of using public transport.
2) You can sleep better.
3) Women would especially prefer such transport systems, so that no one can impeach their space.

submitted by
Tushar Jain

Recently I was traveling with my family on vacation. A major point of pain with twin 6 year olds is the security line. We queued up in a line that went outside the winding seat belt maze of agony and waited. When we were about halfway through the line the a TSA agent appeared and started to tell the people lining up that this line was at “110% of capacity” while the one just a 5 minute walk away was at 15% Capacity. We passed about 55 screens on the way to security announcing flight arrivals and departures. It seems the TSA could leverage some of these screens to notify passengers of security checkpoint capacity.

submitted by
Matt

Exterior cameras on planes with digital feeds. I love looking at the world going past, but only a fraction of passengers get the privilege. Place some digital cameras on the skin or in the window bays at different angles for all passengers to enjoy on their electronic devices. If security is an issue, cut the feed off within a few minutes of landing. Don’t forget to point them up for night flights and cloud veiwing.

submitted by
Jeff

A suggestion for the TSA: Having to take off your shoes at airport security is annoying, inconvenient and often embarrassing. We at the TSA understand this and to make up for it we’ve developed a Security Line Massage Pad to add a bit of spring back to your step as you navigate pre-flight screening. Simply Walk over the pad to enjoy a gentle massage and a light deodorizing mist to freshen up. Have a nice flight!

submitted by
David Wykes &
Cameron Campbell

Three ideas:

1. Design a new seatbelt buckle. If the airline is STILL explaining how to use your seatbelt after 40 years there is something wrong with it!

2. Pre order food: Domestic flights don’t serve full meals, I can live with that. I have been on 6 hour flights and they have run out of food before they get to me. If you could pre-order food, the airline would have a better idea what to bring on board and I wouldn’t have to eat liquorice for dinner.

3. Put all of the audio controls with the TV. Having them uncovered in the arm rest means you can accidentally adjust the volume or channel. Or your neighbour is asleep on them. If the TV’s worked, that would be nice too.

submitted by
Tracy Bright

Having traveled a lot, I understand how much the resources of time and money put into even the simplest travel, begs for a better experience that what we have today. Demand more service from a service industry. Without a huge structural or costly overhaul on how these companies can improve one’s own experience, what solutions might there be for one to improve someone else’s experience? I don’t enjoy being the jerk who takes 10 minutes finding a place for my overly-stuffed backpack that’s too big to fit under my seat, but too small to take up space in-an already space limited overhead compartment & not worth spending $$$ checking in. If there was some way I could tell that the guy sitting two seats back had space under his seat and was willing to let me store it there, I’d happily do the same for the mother of two who could use the space under my seat for her diaper bag. +

submitted by
Anouk M.

Traveling across Atlantic one way equals one year of driving a car in emissions for each person. I’ve traveled a lot recently and noticed that a lot of times half or more of the seats in the airplane are empty, which means that the flight is less profitable for the airline and worse for the environment.

That made me think about the amazingly complicated structure of communications and systems that was supporting my flight. I started to wonder if there could be a possibility to add more flexibility to this static structure? Could we create a service or a system where flights are booked flexibly and the dates are arranged based on the demand people flying? Would such a choice of a collective value over personal bring more responsibility to our transportation choices? +

submitted by
Maria Zenkevich

Why do they board airplanes front to back? Terrible system; they should reverse this. As a first class passenger I’d prefer a different boarding time then the rest of the plane, more convenient and less time that I have to spend on the plane while people bump me with their bags. Also, someone should develop an app that shows you all the restaurant/bar options near your gate or on the way to your gate from security checkpoint. I spend way too much time wandering around instead knowing exactly where I want to go before I get on my flight.

submitted by
Gabriella

Three ideas to trigger air industry:

1) speed travel time, should be short, time is money


2) more leg space


3) cheaper rates


submitted by
Dilil Jewani

It’s bewildering to see so many of my fellow travelers sulking about in dark airport corners just to siphon off a red-eyes worth of cell phone charge. These travel-perfect devices require very little in way of raw electricity to remain functional for the duration of a typical flight, yet we are still relegated to cautiously steal from the airport grid. Where is portable technology more ubiquitous than the airport? And why does getting a charge have to be so creepy? There must be auxiliary ways to capture residual energy amongst the comings and goings of a busy airport! +

submitted by
Ben Mabry

Airport travel is stressful even while waiting in the terminal for your flight to board. Replacing those ugly, connected, uncomfortable, doctors waiting room like chairs with beautiful, colorful, wooden rockers would go a long way towards soothing a travelers weary soul. Rocking in a chair lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety, promotes circulation (especially important after a day of sitting on planes), and relaxes the body. And it’s fun!

submitted by
Linda Gill

How about a section of the plane for familes specifically? Flying with a 2 year old is challange enough, then to sit next to a non-child friendly person who keeps giving you and your child dirty looks adds even more stress. I m happy to sit with other families where we can commiserate together, and give other passengers without kids a break. Maybe this section even has child friendly space, games and videos in the future.

submitted by
Kara

I would prefer more room for my legs and knees on long flights. An alternative is to offer the splitting the cost of leaving the center seat empty with the passenger on the window or aisle during booking or checkin. More room for knees, elbows, perhaps even shoulders.

submitted by
Lee

Redesign hotel rooms to be more functional.

submitted by
Peri

Every year, I fly back to Atlanta, GA to visit my parents for the Chinese New Year. Often times, I book myself the red-eye flight from Seattle to Atlanta. I think it would be great for the airline to provide better red-eye flight experience. Like lie flat seats, premium economy seats with larger leg room (I am 6’3), so that the red-eye flight wouldn’t be that much of a red-eye experience… in Europe, they have the sleeper train services to cater traveler who travel over night. Maybe it would be a great idea for the air travel as well.

submitted by
Kyle Chao

I would suggest airlines offer more service and bigger more comfortable seats.
Take out some of the extra seats and make the aisles wider. I would suggest a first class only airline instead of first class and economy combined on one plane; there are many people who would pay extra for this feature if the service and experience created a WOW factor.

LISTEN UP: AIRLINE SERVICE IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. IF YOU DON’T GIVE IT, ANOTHER AIRLINE WILL.

submitted by
Ronald Reeker

I am new to traveling long distances in the air, my wife is from New Zealand, and I am from the states. But making the trip between LAX and Auckland, some design issues really stood out to me that fixed would minimize frustration, and increase the comfort level of passengers. First a seat designed with armrests that could be pushed straight down between the cushions, instead of swiveling up between the backs of the seats. Also, quiet closing hinges in the kitchen areas of plane, on the overhead compartment doors, and the bathroom stalls. Nothing like waking up to the loud snapping a popping of hinges before my meal is served.

submitted by
Steven Tanner

One of the most under-designed aspects of air travel is the TSA check point—and specifically the plastic bins clunking up the joint. Many travelers struggle with how many bins they’ll need to get all their belongings through the x-ray machines. And, the bins have to be restocked from the other side by TSA agents. Since they’re all the same size now, bins should be built into the x-ray system itself, spaced to allow bags. No more loose bins! This would free up TSA agents from stacking and restocking duty, letting them focus on screening passengers and bags.

submitted by
Devin Liddell

This is not “a big” idea, but it would be great to have RFID or NFC tags on your luggage and be able leave the baggage claim area only if the tag you have with you (on your phone or around your arm) corresponds to the one on your luggage. People would be reassured (instead of always being scared about lost or stolen bags). And being able to follow your luggage’s status or location on your phone should be a must!!!!!

submitted by
Emilie Belis

Flight attendants do a lot of work during a flight, much more than just serving beverages. As a human factors engineer, I can’t help but watch how they do what they do during a flight. During my recent holiday travels it occurred to me that airplanes aren’t really designed around the flight attendant or their work. Often ergonomics in the workplace is thought of as your computer and associated office desk/chair, but the airplane is their office. I know if my office was as cramped and full of people as an airplane cabin, I too might get a bit frustrated. If we could improve the design of their workplace, then their job satisfaction may increase and as a result improve the customer experience as well.

submitted by
Carrie McEwan

I’d like to experience more of the visual sensation of flight, even through just a bigger, well placed window in the door. Or a pivot/gimbal camera under the nose, allowing all passengers to share control and watch the awesome views from a channel on the seatback video.

submitted by
Bill Noble

Seat warmers on overnight flights. I travel a lot, domestically and internationally. I have my typical travel routine down to include what I wear – mostly because i tend to be cold a lot. I always carry a sweater. Even with the sweater and a blanket, if I can get one, I am always cold on overnight flights…and that can make it tough to sleep. I want the heated seats in my MINI as the seat I fly in. Those heated seats are great and the auto industry has had them for years.

submitted by
Andy Cargile

Why don’t airlines make specific inter-locking carry-on suitcases/bags that are all specific dimensions and can interlock with each other and the overhead storage area? In this system, everyone would be allotted one specific overhead slot and everyone would know what to expect. The suitcases could be customizable so everyone’s would be different (yet the same), and airlines could even offer an “additional carry on” service for a fee, or to loyal members!

submitted by
Chris Zahn

There is one easy thing that could be done to make travel a hell of a lot easier: change the hinges on bathroom stall doors so that they open OUT. Inward-opening doors force you to go in with your bag and then somehow maneuver it all in such a way so as to close the door, but even then, there is no space for your knees when you sit. Changing the hinges would make using the bathroom quicker and easier and would help to avoid lines as well.

submitted by
Alysha Naples

One small thing that could add huge value, the right to reserve overhead space for baggage. After the hassle of getting through security with a carry on bag it’s a big let down being forced to check it at the gate, and then wait for it at baggage claim on the other side! 

submitted by
Sarah Matheny