Stand-up airline seats are here, but you won't use one soon

An Italian company, Aviointeriors, has designed and patented what it calls a "stand-up" airline seat, and representatives from the company have told Travel Weekly that some airlines are interested in them. But don't panic at the media reports: You won't be using them anytime soon.

The spindly-looking seats, as you can see, do not force passengers to stand fully erect. Instead, they provide for a half-sitting, half-leaning carriage, although the feet must be on the floor for it to function as designed. The "pitch," or distance between the front of the seat and the back of the next row, is only 23 inches.