Acro Aircraft Seating to equip Airbus A320 aircraft with new wider and lighter economy seat.

Tuesday 26th November 2013

UK-based passenger aircraft seat manufacturer Acro Aircraft Seating has announced that it will equip Airbus A320 aircraft with its Ultra XC wider and lighter economy class reclining seat from the first quarter, 2014. The seat, boasting a width of 18.1 inches for window and aisle seats and 19.3 inches for the middle seat, will offer passengers more 'personal' space, greater comfort and improved sleep especially on long haul flights. The launch customer, a yet to be announced major European carrier will install the new seats across its fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

Recent research from the London Sleep Centre revealed that a minimum seat width of 18 inches improved passenger sleep quality by 53% compared with the 1950s-style 17-inch standard. Cameron Allan, Commercial Director at Acro, adds: "We are very excited to be working to supply a wider and more comfortable seat which will address the needs of passengers. The new Ultra XC seat was developed very much in response to customer demand. At Acro, we want our customers to be happy and according to the recent research, when it comes to flying long haul in economy, an inch or so makes a huge difference in terms of passenger comfort."

Distinguished by their light weight and slim design of the seatback, Acro's seats fulfill the specific requirements needed by Airbus and commercial carriers in order to comply with the demanding airline seat market. In addition to passenger comfort, Acro's seats offer a short lead time of only 16 weeks, increased leg room, a reduction of maintenance costs due to a robust, modular and easy-clean structure and a significant weight saving over other manufactured seats which helps operators reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions.

This latest news follows a hugely successful 2013 for Acro with contract wins to supply seats to Braathens Regional for 13 Saab 340/2000 aircraft, South Africa's Mango Airlines for eight Boeing 737-800s and KLM Cityhopper for 26 Fokker F70s.

Based in Redhill, Surrey, Acro believes that good design comes from the application of common sense, engineering rigour and practical experience of the service environment. The company designs, certifies and manufactures lightweight, robust and comfortable economy seats for regionals, legacy, low cost and traditional carriers. Acro's seat portfolio satisfies a wide range of aircraft types and different cabin class options and has the capability to produce 1,500 seats a month, which it anticipates will increase to 2000 a month by 2015.  By year end Acro will have some 20,000 seats flying (a number it expects to double over the next eighteen months) following installations on Braathens Regional, Mango, KLM City Hopper, and Aer Arann. Jet2.com (the launch customer in 2008) now has more than 50 aircraft with Acro seats.

www.acro.aero