Airliners are designed as if people are afraid of the sky. The tiny windows, never matched perfectly to the seats, are easy to obscure, and the insides evoke all the comfort and mundanity of a commuter train or, on really nice planes, a bland but expensive lounge bar. This is a shame, because passengers struggling through a pre-selected movie while waiting for their half-size sodas or miniature cocktails are missing out on a truly amazing experience: hurtling through the sky in a flying machine, the kind that's only existed for little more than a century. So why not design a plane that sees the sky as a joy to experience, rather than an inconvenience to hide?

This concept, unveiled by Windspeed Technologies last month, imagines an airliner with a viewing deck. The craft, arrayed more like a luxury vehicle than a crowded economy flier, includes a lounge setup in the back with a special pair of seats on a piston. Passengers could get in these seats and then ride up to a special bubble/dome viewing canopy, where they can look out at the sky in almost all directions.