Above: A handshake between Chris Brady, chief executive of Acro Aircraft Seating (left) and Heino Ostermeier, senior VP of cabin procurement at Airbus, marks the start of a new phase of cooperation between the companies
February 1, 2017 – Airbus has a new name in its BFE seat catalog in the shape of Acro Aircraft Seating. The UK-based seat manufacturer has supplied line-fit seats to Airbus since 2015, and this deal deepens their relationship and adds two new seat models – the Series 3 and the Series 6 – to Airbus’s customer offerings.
The first model to enter the catalog is the ‘Series 3 Superlight ST,’ a slimline economy class seat featuring an aluminum table that has been designed and proportioned with beverage service and the use of a tablet devices in mind.
The new Series 6 economy class model will follow, pending delivery of the first shipset to an as-yet unnamed national flag carrier during Q3 2017. Series 6 is suitable for single and twin aisle application, and features a composite seatback and a design – created in conjunction with Factorydesign – which Acro says has enabled a little extra space to be found between the armrests for increased passenger comfort, light weight, a low parts count, and low operational costs.
Chris Brady, chief executive of Acro said, “This agreement with Airbus is the latest milestone achievement that reflects how hard we’ve worked to grow Acro by investing in our staff, product innovation and supporting infrastructure. Appearing in the Airbus catalog extends our reach and accessibility to scheduled flag carriers, enabling our growth and pursuing our vision of perfect comfort for passengers.”
Below: Rather than a standard aluminum seatback frame, the Series 6 seatback has been redesigned as a composite skeleton
