More spaciousness and comfort with Recaro’s Flex Seat concept

An innovative seating solution for optimal cabin utilization with the SL3510

SCHWAEBISCH HALL, Germany. The “Smart Cabin Reconfiguration” concept, a collaborative research effort between Airbus, THK and Recaro, was nominated as a finalist for the Crystal Cabin Award 2017. The innovation from Recaro is called Flex Seat. With a simple sliding seat concept, seat spacing can be increased for passengers when flights are not fully occupied. To this end, the proven and award-winning SL3510 economy class seat for short- and medium-haul flights is simply folded up, and the front seat rows are then pulled apart like an accordion to increase the seat spacing. This results in significantly more space for passengers. German aircraft manufacturer Recaro Aircraft Seating is presenting this world premiere at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2017 at the beginning of April in Hall 7 / Stand B20.

Under the “Adding value with Recaro” motto, the long-established company from Schwaebisch Hall will be presenting current product developments in all aircraft classes during the three-day trade fair in Hamburg, along with innovative seating concepts that provide airlines with maximum flexibility and cost-effectiveness, while guaranteeing maximum comfort and safety for guests on board. Flex Seat is part of Recaro’s new “five-star package” and it clearly demonstrates how simple ideas can evolve into real product innovations.

“In collaboration with Airbus, we developed a new seating concept for cabin configuration that is very easy to use, absolutely reliable – and it benefits both airlines and passengers alike. A classic win-win situation and a leading-edge cabin solution from our perspective,” says René Dankwerth, Executive Vice President Research & Development at Recaro Aircraft Seating. “Innovations need to be effective and not at all complicated. Our developers, technicians and engineers have been pursuing this objective in aircraft seat design for more than 40 years.”

The principle behind the innovation is simple: thanks to an additional carbon fiber structure, three seats in a row of Recaro’s proven SL3510 lightweight seat can be folded up simultaneously. Three hand movements are enough to lift up the seat row, release the floor locking mechanism and push the front seats apart along a rail system. This simple mechanism hardly requires any additional components and it can be operated entirely without tools and with very little effort.

The cabin crew can therefore flexibly adjust the seating configuration between flights – depending on actual passenger volume – and ensure more legroom.

Ease of operation, low weight, outstanding reliability through the entire seat lifecycle, along with minimal maintenance requirements were at the center of the development of the new Flex Seat from Recaro. As an absolute lightweight in the cabin, the classic SL3510 seat, weighing in at only 9.1 kilograms, not only saves fuel during the flight, it also ensures additional legroom and enhanced passenger comfort.

Recaro Aircraft Seating develops creative ideas and customized solutions for the aircraft cabin – and these ideas offer clear insight on what will be possible in the future. Customer Service, Flex Seat, Wellbeing, Antibacterial solutions and I-Seat are Recaro’s five new stars that meet the airlines’ wishes for customization – while perfectly reflecting the dynamic evolution of the aviation sector.

Press contact

RECARO Aircraft Seating GmbH & Co. KG
Daimlerstr. 21
74523 Schwäbisch Hall
Germany
Phone: +49 791 503-5500
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