The research department at Airbus SA just seems like the funnest place to work these days. 
 
 It’s only a couple of months since the Toulouse, France-based company filed a patent application for a new ultra-economy class concept that looked like a row of bicycle saddles. Now its scientists have dreamed up something much more outlandish: a revolutionary, futuristic aircraft design where passengers sit in a circular cabin enclosed in a sort of delta-wing structure. 
 
 Viewed from the side, the design looks like a raindrop on its side (or like some of the jet-propelled cars designed to break the world land speed record, if you prefer). Viewed from the top–and this is what makes you wonder about how team in Toulouse dreamed it up–it looks strangely reminiscent of a doughnut inside a “Jésuite”, a popular triangular French pastry. 
 
 The filing suggests almonds would be removed to improve aerodynamic performance. 
 
 According to the patent filing, Airbus’ scientists say it could provide a “simple, economic and efficient solution” to one of the main shortcomings of the traditional cylindrical passenger cabin: the need for relatively heavy “sealed bottoms” at the front and back of the tube to cope with the effects of pressurization. 
 
 Sadly for enthusiasts of air travel and sci-fi films, it looks like the project is going to remain on the drawing board for the foreseeable future. 
 
 “It’s just one of many ideas,” a spokesman for the company said, pointing out that Airbus files for over 600 patents a year, mainly just for the sake of protecting intellectual property. “It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be working on making it a reality.” 
 
 If Airbus were to try to develop the model commercially, it would have to overcome some formidable technical and regulatory obstacles. The fact that passengers are supposed to board from below via a hatch, for example, doesn’t sit comfortably with regulations on emergency exits. And such a radical design might easily require changes to the infrastructure at airports (much like the A380 did). 
 
 The Airbus spokesman couldn’t confirm whether the staff canteen in Toulouse sells Jésuites, either separately or together with doughnuts. ||||| As if the “flying doughnut” and bicycle-esque seat weren’t bad enough, a new airplane seating arrangement threatens to eliminate every last ounce of air travelers’ dignity by forcing them to stare at one another for the duration of a flight. 
 
 It’s called the “economy class cabin hexagon” and it looks as awful as it sounds. 
 
 Patent documents filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization by Zodiac Seats France, an industry supplier, propose arranging airline seats side-by-side but facing opposite directions, putting passengers at real risk of making dreaded eye contact. 
 
 The patent application said the aim of the new configuration is to increase cabin density ” while also creating seat units that increase the space available at the shoulder and arm area by creating an overlap in the shoulder areas of adjacent seats. 
 
 But really, who needs shoulder space? We’d guessing that passengers would rather have their arms totally immobilized instead of having to sit inches away from strangers, while positioned face-to-face.
– If you were thinking of designing an aircraft shaped sort of like an enormous doughnut, we have some bad news for you: Airbus has already called it. The company has filed a patent application for a passenger aircraft in that very shape, the Financial Times reports. Why go for the doughnut look? Well, current aircraft face heavy pressure on their front and rear ends, requiring special support. "The purpose of the invention is particularly to provide a simple, economic, and efficient solution to these problems," Airbus says. The new design, which you can view here, also offers more room for passengers, CNBC reports. The "doughnut" does, of course, have its drawbacks. Boarding hatches—in the doughnut's "hole"—don't clearly fit emergency exit rules, Fortune notes, and the aircraft's shape might require airport redesigns. Either way, don't expect Dunkin' Donuts to start an airline anytime soon. "It’s just one of many ideas,” an Airbus rep tells Fortune. "It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be working on making it a reality." In fact, the company seeks more than 600 patents yearly, the rep tells the publication (though the Financial Times puts the figure at 6,000). For instance, Airbus recently sought a patent for standing "seats" that are basically bike saddles. (If that's not quite your desired comfort level, maybe try a flying three-room suite.)