Molon Labe has teamed up with BMW’s Designworks and Panasonic Avionics to create an economy-cabin design that would make the middle seat wider and more attractive.

A concept model of the novel design will be unveiled at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, April 4-6.

The Stagger Seat, or S2, is a variation of Molon Labe Seating’s Side-Slip Seat, which is aimed at faster boarding and quicker turnarounds for time-sensitive short-haul flights. The Colorado company is launching this new variation on the concept with quite a different goal – to improve economy-class passenger comfort on long-haul flights.

The Stagger Seat takes the ergonomic features of the Side-Slip Seat and translates them into a reclining economy seat “like no other,” the company claims. In the Side-Slip seat, the middle seat is offset, or staggered, downward and backward relative to the seats either side. This allows the aisle seat to be slid over the middle seat during boarding, to increase aisle width and allow passengers to get past.

Faster turnarounds are not the main aim for long-haul airline, Molon Labe CEO Hank Scott said, so the Stagger Seat does not slide, but it will recline.

The offset is used primarily to increase space for the middle-seat passenger – and potentially generate more revenue for the airline.

By staggering the middle seat vertically and fore/aft, the arms, thighs and elbows of passengers are no longer adjacent. “The Stagger Seat offers more living space for all occupants,” Scott said. “The middle seat is also 3 inches wider while the other seats maintain their standard width.”

Molon Labe has teamed up with BMW’s Designworks creative consultancy and inflight-entertainment (IFE) provider Panasonic Avionics to showcase the new seat. Designworks has added “delineated, sculpted armrests and a unique one-sided headrest,” Scott said.

Panasonic has used the 21-inch-wide back of the staggered middle seat to install a 17.3-inch 4K monitor, “the widest IFE screen available in economy class,” Scott said, adding: “Why not throw some love at the middle-seat schmo? – a bigger seat and a bigger screen.”