Easyjet has taken delivery of what it calling its new Spaceflex Airbus A320 – seating a grand total of 186 passengers.
Here’s the press image of those seats loaded aboard the new EasyJet A320.
EasyJet SpaceFlex A320 with Recaro SL3510 Seats – Image, EasyJet.
EasyJet currently operate 180 seat A320 aircraft – this is another row of seats that have been added.
Now, I could talk about cost savings, reducing carbon footprints, accessible toilets, more galley space… but I’m not sticking to the press release.
Rather – and I think as passenger – I’m focusing on the seat.
EasyJet has chosen Recaro’s SL3510 seat to be installed on their planes. The seat itself is a pre-recliend seat, weighing in a 9kg per seat. Instead of the normal foam filled in these seats, these are filled with netting material, resulting in a thinner backrest.
The seat itself has only a few moving parts which make it easy for maintenance – with the seat non reclining, the only moving parts are the tray and the armrest
Easyjet have opted to have tablet holders installed in the tray – making it friendly for Bring-Your-Own In Flight Entertainment to be used without impeding passenger space.
This is all nice talk… but you’re thinking to yourself that I’ve read in a brochure copy-typing this
Except… I had the chance to try this seat out at Aircraft Interiors Expo this year.
Here’s the actual seat-set as shown at Aircraft Interiors Expo.
Recaro SL3510 Seat-set in formation, Image – Economy Class and Beyond
Forward pitch 30″, Rear Pitch 29″, Image – Economy Class and Beyond
Your author sat in the 29″ Seat pitch seat. Seat pocket is pictured too – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The seat itself – is actually rather comfortable for the period I tried the seat. It didn’t feel like I was crammed in tight, and there was a reasonable amount of legroom (compared to some economy seats I’ve been trapped in on a shorthaul flight).
The planes will feature:
- A larger galley
- A partition wall in front of row 1ABC to help customers be more comfortable during boarding
- A wheelchair accessible toilet in the rear galley
- New carpets.
EasyJet note that both the average seat pitch and minimum seat pitch across the fleet has remained the same with this change.
Meanwhile, the airline will take delivery of eight aircraft this year with this new configuration installed as standard. Six of these will arrive for the summer – and will be based out of London Gatwick Airport.
The rest of EasyJet’s fleet will be refitted with the Recaro SL3510 seats which will be completed by Summer 2018.
We all know slimline seats can be awful – depending how they’re built and how they’re implemented. The Recaro seat chosen by EasyJet did feel comfortable when I tried it out, and looks to be better than some reclining seats out there.
Hopefully long-term usage of these seats should bear out some of the comfort hopes.
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