ATR and Geven to introduce a new seat… and its a major improvement

ATR have been working with Geven seating (their current major supplier) to introduce a new seat for the ATR42-600 and ATR72-600.

And it’s an important seat.

Why?

Let’s look at current seat – this is pitched at 30″ (although carriers do pitch it lower). This was introduced by Geven in 2011 – a long time ago in seating terms.

The current ATR Seat by Geven

ATR standard legroom with the Geven Seat

So, let’s look at the new seat.  Called the NeoPrestige the first thing to note this seat has an 18″ seat width from armrest to armrest.

The new seat – note the middle arm rest

The seat with the arm middle armrest folded away.

I keep going on about the 18″ factor – something that Airbus likes to push to provision a better passenger space, and even in the 18″ wide, the extra space in the seat is evident.

The arm rests are of note – if you look, you’ll notice the middle seat armrest is thicker, whilst the edge arm resets are thinner – a clever use of redistribution of the arm reset space.

Notice the arm rest differences – edge arm resets are thinner than the middle space.

The seat itself has had reduced parts in it – so the tray table, arm reset and the seatback are the only moving parts on the seat. This reduces weight.

This means of course savings. On a 70 seater ATR72-600, this would be 170kg (around two passengers worth). On a 78 seat configuration, this is a 200kg saving (two passengers and a suitcase worth).

And with that number, you can afford to densify a bit, by adding two more seats aboard an ATR72-600 (as well as modifying the galley position)

What does the seat feel like to sit in? I had an extensive sit in the seat, and again – it’s an improvement over the existing seat. I wasn’t bunched up to someone (unlike in the current Geven seat).

In terms of seat pitch – this is where it got interesting. I tried the seat at 28″ and 29″. It was usable at both pitches – a major step forward.

28″ seat pitch

29″ seat pitch.

Some clever design tweaks to the seat have been made, so the knees aren’t bashing into the back of the seat, with some deep sculpting in the back of the seat.

The NeoPrestige seat will be offered for delivery from Q1 2018, where airlines and lessors can choose to have the old seats until stock is exhausted, or the new seats fitted as standard. The seats are also available to re-fit if an airline or lessor desires.

Sometimes, the smallest innovations can make a big difference. And it seems ATR and Geven are onto a winner with this seat which promises more comfort space for the passenger, whilst allowing the airlines to lower costs.

This seems to be a win to me.

Thanks to ATR for the extensive demonstration at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2017.

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