In a major vote of confidence, Wizz Air has signed a contract with Recaro Aircraft Seating for 31,767 seats.
Recaro SL3710 for Wizz Air –Image, Recaro Aircraft Seating
The airline will use the Recaro SL3710 seat, to be installed on 146 Airbus barrow body aircraft. These seats will be installed starting 2021.
The partnership is a part of a larger deal with the Indigo Partners portfolio of airlines for nearly 100,000 passenger seats (covering 459 shipsets), which is the largest order of seats in the history of Recaro.
Recaro worked closely with Wizz Air to develop a sustainable seat for the carrier, as the airline already has numerous sustainable initiatives in place. In turn, Wizz Air has reduced its carbon footprint by utilizing efficient Airbus aircraft and prioritizing lightweight products for its cabins among all Airbus 320 family operators.
The Seat being used is the Recaro SL3710 – announced last year at Aircraft Interiors Expo.
Recaro SL3710 at its launch event – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The seat weighs in around 8kg per seat, comprised of durable and reliable parts, which makes it a cost-effective choice for airlines focused on minimizing fuel and maintenance costs. The seat is pre-reclined, whilst changes in the seat cushion, the seat pan and the seat structure itself allowed for seat weight reductions
In Quotes
Dr Hiller, CEO of Recaro Aircraft Seating said
“This accomplishment is a significant milestone for Recaro and the teams involved, all which deserve great recognition and gratitude,”
“This is potentially the swiftest ramp-up of an order we have ever experienced, and I am confident that our teams are well-prepared to handle this.”
Heiko Holm, Chief Operations Officer of Wizz Air said
“A lot of work went into selecting a seating provider for this order, but what impressed us most about Recaro was the level of customer orientation,”
“Not only was their global network of production and customer service sites easily accessible for our individual airlines, but Recaro also customized the SL3710 seat according to our needs. This gave us additional insight into Recaro willing to go the extra mile to meet our needs.”
A major win for Reacro
459 shipsets or 96,000 seats is a major win for any seat manufacturer – especially at this time. With further seats going out to other Indigo Partners airlines, there will be a lot of these new Recaro seats flying.
And hopefully, a positive sign for the future for suppliers to airlines is that there is life beyond COVID-19.
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They look like the Torquemada slimline seats. Ouch.