"Forget economy: first-class passengers are the people who keep airlines in profit."
Is that true?
Anyway, if Virgin has patents on seats, it can try to enforce them. But, Contour seems to be saying the "unique" seating may predate Virgin's patents. If so, there is prior art that a court could cite in invalidating Virgin's patents.
They'll settle, probably.
Patents, and patent lawsuits, can be a good source of income for high-tech companies. Why not the airlines?