> The end product is a rigid frame of aluminum alloy or titanium or carbon composites, with thin foam padding for the seat pan and back. All in all, a set of technical failures as far as human comfort is concerned.

It's frustrating when it's referred to as a failure - it's designed to the exact specification as demanded by the management, I'm sure. None of the engineers are thinking "how can we make flyers suffer," management wants smaller, cheaper seats for more profit, and possibly even to make them uncomfortable to incentivize an upgrade, as _mentioned_ in the article...

Just a note, airline seats are built in such a way that force you to hunch over. It's baffling. You can't sit with your shoulders back. They sit in a dip that is right below a decline which pushes your shoulders forwards and inwards. I never hear anyone mention this, but it's so self-evidently bad it must be done on purpose.