Bentley unveils high-tech, airline-style seat option

Let's acknowledge right upfront: It might be a tell that a luxury brand's designers and marketers live in a different world than the masses when they decide that an airline seat should represent the pinnacle of technology and comfort. But that is what Bentley is calling its most technologically advanced and comfortable seat yet, which debuted this year as an option in the extended wheelbase version of its 2023 Bentayga crossover.

Each climate-controlled and fully adjustable "airline seat" constantly measures its occupant's temperature and humidity and adjusts automatically to one of seven preselected comfort levels. The seats in the rear of the Bentayga EWB also feature what Bentley dubs a "postural adjustment system," which employs 12 electric motors and multiple pneumatic valves to constantly change the way the seat interacts with its occupant, improving comfort and reducing fatigue.

The multiple servos and pumps are well-hidden beneath a luxurious and plush leather exterior. Bentley says the system goes "beyond the 2D motions typical of adjustable seats and employs a 3D twist to relieve pressure points. These motions are controlled by complex algorithms that have been developed in collaboration with a chiropractor who deals with clients who experience discomfort on long car journeys."

And to cap it off, the seat also comes with an extendable footrest, just in keeping with the whole "airline seat" ethos. If only someone could tell airlines that this is how their seats are supposed to feel.