This has been a successful week for Recaro Aircraft Seating. The first news from the company is that it has received an order for 4,700 economy and business class seats from WestJet. The Canadian airline is equipping 10 long-haul B787 Dreamliner aircraft with Recaro’s CL3710 economy class seats, while for 10 B737 MAX aircraft operating its short and medium-haul routes, it has selected the BL3520 economy class seat and CL4710 business class seat, with deliveries due to begin in 2018.
Recaro Aircraft Seating has also enjoyed success with the German Innovation Awards, in which it won a trophy for its Hygienic Seat design. The Hygienic Seat concept includes active bacteria-killing substances within the hygienic coatings used on the frequently touched plastic parts of seats.
In a scientific investigation of the survival of pathogens on airplane cabin surfaces, Kiril Vaglenov from Auburn University in Alabama, USA concluded that E. coli bacteria could survived 96 hours on an armrest. With this in mind, the Recaro team set out to find a solution, which it believe it has found in the specially coated surfaces with active substances to fight antibacterial infestation.
According to Recaro, the company is in discussions with multiple customers regarding the coatings system, and it plans to launch it within the next 1-2 years.
