Air Dolomiti, the Italy-based airline subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, has selected Geven’s Essenza RJ economy class seat for a retrofit programme on 15 Embraer 195 aircraft. The seat is already in use with other airlines in Lufthansa Group – Deutsche Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines – each with exclusive trim and finish to match their cabin design schemes.
For Air Dolomiti the seats will be trimmed with blue and turquoise eco leather dress covers. The Essenza seats will also feature high seatback literature pockets, a recline up to 3in, and ergonomic seat cushions. Geven will deliver the Essenza RJ seats in 15 ship-sets for the Embraer 195s, with installation scheduled between December 2021 and March 2022, with the first retrofitted aircraft expected to fly in January 2022.
Alberto Casamatti, CEO of Air Dolomiti explained the choice of seat: “I had the opportunity to visit Geven’s Headquarters in Naples and was impressed by the modern and innovative structure of their sites. Their attention to high quality standards, and continuous research for the improvement and technological development of products, makes this Italian company a jewel of the sector. We share the roots of companies born from the passions of strongly business-oriented families, who have pursued a dream by making it come true, aiming for growth and continuous improvement.”
Marzio Caneva, Air Dolomiti’s VP of technical operations added, “The Essenza RJs, in addition to being more comfortable, are the result of innovative projects, with a design which will allow us to increase the number of seats on our aircraft… In addition the lower weight of Essenza RJ will allow to reduce fuel consumption, with a benefit on costs and environmental impact.”
Caneva is referring to the primary structure of the seat design, which maximises shin and knee clearance, optimises weight (10.4kg for a fully dressed seat) and enables an arm-to-arm width of more than 18.3in. The single-piece carbon fibre backrest of the of the Essenza RJ means that no additional fairing or plastic shrouds are necessary, so only the seat foam and dress cover are added, reducing parts count and weight. Likewise the bottom cushion is installed directly on the seat beams using Velcro, and performs both structural and comfort functions while enabling easy inspection and maintenance activities.