A Fort Worth airline seat manufacturer, Recaro, is reporting several new deals in Asian markets.
Japanese airline Peach, a subsidiary of ANA Holdings, is increasing its fleet size and ordering the SL3510 from Recaro Aircraft Seating for 14 aircrafts, a news release said. The seat will make an early 2019 debut in the Japanese market in the Airbus A320 CEO and Airbus A320 NEO in the airline’s economy class.
“We are pleased that our proven, sturdy SL3510 seat will soon be flying for the first time in the Japanese market with Peach Aviation” Recaro chief executive and shareholder Mark Hiller said in the release. “The fact that over 125,000 seats of this model have been sold worldwide confirms its significant benefits in terms of economy and reliability.”
At about nine kilograms, Recaro’s SL3510 is one of the lightest aircraft seats in its class, and contributes to reducing aircraft weight and therefore fuel consumption. The seat features an inclination angle of 15 degrees and an adaptive backrest for the spine.
“After a profound evaluation, our young team has decided to select the Recaro SL3510 for its impressively low weight, its design and comfort,” Representative Director of Peach Aviation Limited and chief executive Shinichi Inoue said in the release.
CHINA SOUTHERN EQUIPS A350-900 AIRCRAFT WITH RECARO SEATS
China Southern is ordering all Recaro aircraft seats for its new A350-900 fleet for a total of 6,200 Recaro CL6710 lightweight seats for the business class, PL3530 for the premium economy class and CL3710 for the economy class.
“We are delighted and proud that the entire cabin of China Southern’s new A350-900 aircraft will be equipped with our seats,” Hiller said in the release. “This order represents a milestone in our long-term collaboration.”
This is a first for the CL6710, Recaro’s flagship for long-haul applications, in the new A350.
At the push of a button, the seating area transforms into an entirely flat bed, and at around 80 kilograms, it is one of the lightest business class seats on the market.
The CL3710, Recaro’s bestseller with over 250,000 orders worldwide, features a six-way adjustable headrest, newly developed footrest and state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment systems — all at less than 12 kilograms.
Recaro has been delivering aircraft seats to China Southern since 2009, with 10 A330-300 aircraft already equipped with the CL3710.
RECARO LOOKS BACK ON SUCCESSFUL AIX 2018
Recaro closed out the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) 2018 in Hamburg with strong interest in its young product portfolio, a news release said.
New orders announced at the three-day trade fair include those with Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, China Southern, Donghai Airlines, GOL Linhas Aéreas, Juneyao Airlines, Peach, Ruili Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SpiceJet and WOW air. Additionally, the company presented a CL6710 business class design study and an interactive Customer Service Life Cycle Wall.
Interest was high for the seat manufacturer’s new BL3710 lightweight economy class seat, as well as I-Seat and connectivity features. The lightweight CL3710 economy class seat for short and medium haul flights was presented with a new trim and finish, including newly designed seat covers.
Recaro was also awarded a certificate in the Airbus supplier support rating, an honor that reviews product reliability, spares on-time delivery, quick response times of customer service and cost.
Recaro, based in Germany, has a Fort Worth location that has been in operation for 19 years, making an average of 30,000 seats annually. Though the average customer uses a seat for only about seven years, Hiller says the seats have a life of about 30 years. This leads to seats being repurposed, refurbished and reused. In fact, Recaro makes both new seats and refurbishes its older seats at its campus.