Alaska Airlines orders Recaro BL3520

More passenger legroom on new Alaska Airlines aircraft: Carrier installing Recaro seat with award-winning design

Schwaebisch Hall, Germany/Dallas-Fort Worth, USA. Alaska Airlines and Recaro Aircraft Seating announced today that the carrier is the North America launch customer for the Recaro Basic Line 3520 seat. The seat will be installed on all of Alaska Airlines’ new Boeing 737-900ERs scheduled for delivery beginning in fall 2012 through 2014.

“We are very proud to announce that Alaska Airlines is our launch customer for the Recaro BL3520 in the USA and that we will introduce our award-winning seat in the important U.S. market”, says Jim Cangiano, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Recaro Aircraft Seating Americas Inc. The airline will install the seat in its 22 new B737-900ER aircraft.

The BL3520, which was honored with prestigious prizes such as the red dot award 2012 as well as the Crystal Cabin Award 2011, scores with an outstanding combination of lightweight design, comfort, and living space.

“Recaro’s clever design includes a comfortable yet slimmer seatback and bottom and a literature pocket located above the tray table. That means our main cabin customers will enjoy more than an inch of extra legroom with our existing spacing between each row of seats”, says Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ Vice President of Marketing. “The new seats add to a very special onboard experience that all of our customers flying Alaska’s new 737-900ERs will enjoy, including Boeing’s Sky Interior – with its improved lighting and sculpted overhead bins that create a more spacious cabin – onboard Wi-Fi, Starbucks coffee, premium Washington wines and delicious meals for purchase, as well as our renowned personal service.”

“The Recaro BL3520 economy class seat is heading for success – in Europe, in Asia, and now also in the USA”, explains Andreas Lindemann, Chief Sales Officer at Recaro Aircraft Seating. “The seat is about 30 percent lighter than the previous model. It helps airlines to lower costs by reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.” According to the airline, the seat will save an estimated 8,000 gallons of fuel annually per aircraft. Lindemann: “Furthermore, Alaska Airlines ordered the BL3520 including the Recaro modular comfort kit – with additional features such as comfort cushions, comfort dress covers as well as six-way adjustable headrests – thus, it is setting a standard for comfort in the U.S. market.”

Alaska’s first class cabin on its 737-900ERs will feature another premium Recaro seat. The CL4400 offers passengers a variety of comfort features including a five-inch recline, an articulating seat bottom and a six-way adjustable headrest.