Colorado Company Unveils New Airplane Vent To Circulate Air

DENVER (CBS4) - A Colorado company trying to shake up the airline industry has unveiled its latest attempt to improve passenger's in-seat experience. Molon Labe Designs has released a recessed middle seat that gives that passenger more room, and an option to slide seats over to make commercial flights more accessible for people in wheelchairs.

Now a new design is bringing air circulation to the headrest.

"We just want to change the way travel is done, we're not going back to the way it was before," said Molon Labe Designs CEO Hank Scott. "It's a headrest but it's large on one side so it sticks right out here and there's a vent right here. Just like the overhead vent, you can control the rate of flow and the direction it points and the idea is fresh cabin air is coming through the air conditioning system straight to the seat the air appears in front of your face fresh."

The headrest can be rotated 180 degrees giving the passenger the option for what side they want the air to come from and provide a barrier or open up to a traveling companion.

But the company knows it's not a perfect tool to fight COVID-19.

"You still wear a mask to protect other passengers but you're getting non-mixed air straight to your face," Scott said.

He compares the airflow inside a plane to be similar to a bounce house, with new air coming in and some old air getting circulated out.

"It's more a sense of security that the air you're breathing in has not been mixed with anything and it has come straight from the filter and the air conditioning system of the aircraft," Scott said.

With the new headrest and a seat that reduces contact points between passengers, Molon Labe is hoping this will jump start sales as the industry looks toward a post-pandemic world.