The future of air travel might just have been revealed – and it looks surprisingly comfortable, even in economy.

American tech company Collins Aerospace has just named a coveted award for an innovative idea that turns potentially the worst seat in a plane to one of the best.

The company’s SkyNook is a semi-private retreat designed for the back of widebody aircraft. Collins said its idea reclaimed commonly underused space in the last row – where fuselages narrow and there is sometimes room only for two seats.

The SkyNook adds a convertible console between the aircraft wall and seat, offering a spot to stash an infant car seat, bassinet, pet carrier, or even use as an extended work and dining surface.

The SkyNook makes use of the narrow space between the aircraft wall and the seats. Photo: Collins Aerospace

It even has a privacy divider that separates the seats from the aisle and other passengers, as well as dampening noise from the plane’s galley and lavatory areas.

The SkyNook was certainly a hit at this year’s Crystal Cabin awards, which are presented annually as part of Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.

Collins’ SkyNook took out the passenger comfort prize, with the jury hailing its “flexible, value-generating area that enhances passenger comfort and airline revenue potential” when the awards were presented last week.

“It addresses real passenger and operational pain points, including families traveling with toddlers, by improving underutilised economy-class zones. The solution is practical, quickly implementable, and adaptable, turning unused space into desirable seating with clear multipurpose benefits,” the judges said.

Collins Aerospace customer experience design director Jefferey McKee said the company’s designers were “persistent in their dedication [to] reimagining cabin solutions that leverage every square inch of space to improve air travel for passengers, airlines and crew members”.

“SkyNook exemplifies this commitment, transforming a frequently overlooked area into a serene retreat that maximises functionality, comfort and flexibility for families, passengers with service animals or those with sensory considerations,” he said.

Whether airlines will find room for the comparatively roomy SkyNook in their always-squeezed economy cabins remains a point of conjecture.

The Room FX concept allows passengers to lie flat. Photo: All Nippon Airways

The Crystal Cabin awards also recognised other bright ideas in aviation, including a nod to Japan’s All Nippon Airways for an idea that combines two seats into a single compact structure.

The reduced weight and space requirements of the Room FX – designed in cooperation with Acumen Design Associates – allows for increased comfort and more capacity because it has lower weight and space requirements. An important element is an innovative mechanism where the seatback remains fixed while the legrest moves, creating a continuous lie-flat surface.

The Crystal Cabin jury noted the idea delivered “a spacious passenger experience within a highly constrained footprint through exceptional design efficiency and minimal mechanical complexity”.

“It optimises weight while enhancing comfort and functionality, balancing passenger needs and airline requirements,” they said.

“By improving existing seat architecture without compromise, even in smaller fuselage cross-sections, it provides a deeply innovative solution expanding space without added weight.”

The winning sustainable seats are made from a sugar cane-based composite material. Photo: RECARO

RECARO Aircraft Seating nabbed the sustainable cabin title with its Sustainability Concept Seat, which are built with a sugar cane-based composite material. It said the idea saved about 1.5 kilograms per passenger and cut carbon emissions by 55 metric tonnes per single-aisle aircraft every year.

RECARO’s seat is made of recyclable materials and service-friendly modular components. It also has optimised surfaces for cleaning and maintenance.

“It combines multiple dimensions of sustainability – including materials, weight reduction, and circularity – into a single seat concept,” the jury said

“Already in revenue service, the seat delivers significant weight savings, modern premium design, and a strong focus on recyclable materials.”

See more from the 2026 Crystal Cabin awards here