A V-shaped airliner that seats passengers in the wings instead of a central fuselage could make long-distance air travel more sustainable — and it’s more than pie in the sky.

The Flying V prototype plane concept, backed by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, will seat 314 passengers and burn 20% less fuel than the most efficient aircraft due to its improved aerodynamic shape and reduced weight.

Its size makes it a comparable rival to the traditional Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 and it would be able to use existing gates, hangars and runways.

Details of what the inside will look like are scarce but it will inevitably allow for a range of innovative seating arrangements, rooms and fittings.

In video below, Pieter Elbers, president and chief executive officer at KLM, discusses the new concept.