A UK-based firm has created a new kind of airline seat, which gives passengers a place to lay their heads.

New Territory has created a set that has a padded panel on one side that acts as a pillow.

Called 'Interspace', the padded wings fold out from the seat back, where they are hidden.

The back of the seat lifts at the midpoint to reveal the wing, which folds out like an extension of the chair.

The hinges can also be folded back into the chair's upholstery.

Image: Universal Movement

Luke Miles is founder and chief creative officer at New Territory.

He told the Aircraft Cabin Innovation Summit in London: "We've just got an upright and a recline product with this committed base.

"We've not been too pushy in terms of motorised articulation - it's just mechanical."

"When you're sitting in a recline, it's a slightly more pleasant experience, it's open, it's much more domestic than it is aviation based."

"It gives you support in multiple seating positions and creates privacy with the seat next to you".

"Really it's this idea of lateral support we've tried to do with this.

"We went through a number of iterations where we were doing mechanical pull-out of the wing - but actually what we did is we made an origami fold".

Carriers can also brand the inside of the wings, which can be removed and washed as necessary.

They can even embed technology, such as speakers, into them.