Comfort Class

B) Slide Rule

"As you recline, you need more support underneath your thighs," says Joe Ferry, Virgin's design chief. So designers added a track that lets passengers slide the bottom cushion forward in recline mode, revealing extra foam hidden under the seat-back padding. The change also angles the cushion upward to move the center of gravity and better distribute body weight. Virgin tested about two dozen types of foam to find one with the best weight dissipation. Total effect: more recline space and lower risk of sore buns. Plus, says Brent Stackhouse, a real estate consultant who flies often, "it would certainly help keep your pants from riding up to your armpits."

C) Back Down

Most airline seat backs are so flat you could play handball off of them--great for aerobic conditioning, but not for your comfort. "I have a bad lower back," says regular flier Liz Coleman. "I always put a pillow under it." To alleviate the pressure, designers created an S-curved frame with adjustable back support. Press a button on the armrest, and an airbag inflates or deflates, gently altering the seat's contour and pushing snugly against your back. The slight curve also means a bit more recline--the effect of which is enhanced by a higher pivot joint that lets the seat drop back an extra inch without bruising the knees of the guy in back of you.

D) Max Headroom

An adjustable headrest has been standard equipment in automobiles for eons, but it hasn't been adopted by most airlines. Virgin's moves up and down 2.5 inches, offering neck support for a wide range of body types. Is that enough? "A headrest, to be useful, has to move at least 5 inches," says Niels Diffrient, who designs office furniture for Humanscale and once shaped airline interiors. But even the modest change has beneficial secondary effects. Virgin says introducing headrests led it to make the seat backs themselves a bit shorter. That created more cabin headroom and, more important, allowed the carrier to widen seats by 10% and still fit the same number within the plane's curved walls.

E) Comfort at a Premium

Virgin's "premium economy" (better than coach; not quite business) seat got an overhaul, too. The airline added a dual-position footrest to support dangling feet and give passengers a leg up. That's good for 5'1" flier Celeste Frisbee, who laments that most seats are "made for bigger people." It also introduced leather (oooh!) and a hidden tray table in the armrest--plus a couple more inches in width.