26
Less is more Redefining the economy class seat
Weight, cost, robustness and comfort. These are the main considerations in the design and use of any aerospace system, except perhaps the passenger seat. Economy class seating fundamentals have changed little since the De Havilland Comet of the 1950s, which was configured at seat pitches
of between 36” and 45”. The demands of today’s price sensitive air travel industry, resulting in maximum capacity configurations in the economy class cabin, require a radically different approach.
A leader of the seating revolution is UK based manufacturer Acro Aircraft Seating. New to the industry in 2008 when its Superlight seat was launched, it now has over 10,000 seats flying and is expanding rapidly in order to keep pace with demand for its products. The common chassis of all Acro seats uses a single-spar structure combined with a curved backrest to generate legroom measurably greater than the seat pitch. It’s a neat trick which Acro like to call Manufactured Legroom. Given the way people seem to be getting ever bigger, and seat pitches smaller, it seems a straightforward step to reduce the space the seat occupies, in order to increase the living space available to the passenger. The innovations don’t end there. Conventional airline seats have a lot in common with your sofa at home. The structure is hidden beneath layers of plastic, foam, fabric and other trim. Fine for a domestic easy chair, but a hard-working aircraft seat is subject to inspection, maintenance and inevitable repair on a regular basis. All that trim is a maintenance job waiting to happen, and if something beneath it needs work, the time and cost is massively increased by having to remove trim first.
The Acro seat forces its own structural and functional components to do double duty as aesthetic parts as well – there is no trim, only sleek anodised alloys and subdued composites. And it works. The seat is undeniably stylish, whilst honestly displaying its true function, and hiding nothing of its structure or construction. From a maintenance point of view, it’s a dream come true – every fastener is immediately accessible without removing another part. Chris Brady, Managing Director at Acro, explains the philosophy behind their approach. “The single most important principle is simplicity. A simple, considered design results in a robust and comfortable seat which also happens to be lightweight. Low cost of ownership, fuel savings, an exceptional passenger experience and an elegant appearance - these are all benefits which can be traced back to our determination to produce the simplest possible seat.” This simplicity extends throughout the business. Parts have been designed to be simple to manufacture, resulting in a resilient and scalable supply chain; the assembly process has been honed down to one and a half man hours per passenger place – understandable, as an entire triple seat assembly consists of only 63 parts; and the whole operation is run by a streamlined management team based minutes from London Heathrow.
Surprisingly for a seat manufacturer, Acro doesn’t consider
spare parts sales to be a viable revenue source. According to Cameron Allan, Sales and Marketing Director, “Our seats are as close to ‘fit and forget’ as an aircraft seat can be – we’re offering more than just a lightweight and comfortable place to sit. We provide spares support as part of our commitment to customer service, not as a profit making opportunity. Our armrest, for example, is easily the toughest on the market, but if your passenger manages to break one, a
replacement will cost you around $70, and will take you less than 10 seconds to change.” This seems to be an unequivocal advantage, but how
receptive are airlines to the concept? Allan continues: “One of my biggest challenges is persuading experienced cabin engineers that they simply won’t need to
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