Expliseat and Air France showed off its latest seat at Aircraft Interiors Expo – the Expliseat Ti2X Prime.
With them being used on the regional fleet (Air France’s Hop subsidiary), there are plenty of questions -but the most important – are they suitable for the mission?
What’s the mission?
Shorthaul is the name of the game here, with Hop! having bases at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Lyon Airport, with Hop operating those segments that aren’t viable for a mainline Air France jet to carry. The airline operates solely Embraer aircraft (The E175 and E190). In this upgrade, they will target the Embraer E190 aircraft for upgrade.
Hop currently operates 23 of the type.
In terms of construction, Expliseat shies away from traditional construction materials, with the TiSeat 2X incorporating an ultra-light all-carbon and titanium structure, with recycled components and minimal plastic.
This results in a seat that is 30% lighter than a traditional one.
Each seat is dressed with a leather cover and ergonomic foam for added comfort with a four-way adjustable headrest. It’s also finished with the Air France logo on it.
The armrests are moveable, with also a recine function in the seat
Moving on to the back of the seat, it features amenities which include a folding Personal Electronics Device Tray (perfect for a phone or a tablet), and a tray table (which is made out of recycled carbon fibre). The tray table is designed for working, or the food and beverage service.
There are cup holders too, for those who need for something to hold their drink. On the underside of the tray, there are three fully integrated upper literature transparent pockets.
For those who need power at the seat, there will be both USB-A and C power.
Finally, there will be a storage pocket, along with a coat hook.
The next steps
Expiseat is moving to production with these new TiSeat 2X seats, with the first ones due to make it into service in Autumn 2024. Air France is using this as a chance to increase the density of its E190 cabin too – with 110 seats being installed (compared to the 100-seater layouts being installed.
This of course means more crew will be required per flight.
In 2025, Air France will start instituting seat blocks in business class so that no business class passenger will need to sit next to another passenger (unlike how the business class is offered currently), with the aisle seat blocked.
Even then, the extended crew requirement will exist, as it is based on the total number of seats in an aircraft, rather than seats occupied.
Some concerns, but a lot of positive things
A few things popped into my head since AIX, and I have more than a few thoughts.
Firstly, how these seats will handle the day-to-day grind of operations. Expliseat has quite a lot of seats out on deployment, but this will be interesting with a larger carrier – such as Air France – experimenting with them should provide operational insight into how the Carbon Fibre/Titanium structure holds up
As for the leather coverings, the creases took time to come out once I bent the headrest back into shape. Whilst I accept there some people will leave the seat in its default position, there’s always someone who will spend time adjusting the headrest… and that leather needs time to settle between bends.
The final thing that makes me raise an eyebrow is the Hop not going for a fixed-back seat. We all know that a recline mechanism adds to the weight of a seat – and given that the E190s will be carrying 5 more rows of seats installed, that’s got to have a weight penalty over time. The recline option is a wonderful feature for some passengers but can impede the living space – especially on these shorter missions.
However, those things aside, in trying the seat, I found it more than comfortable, with Air France picking the Prime variety of the seat. It offered good posture support, whilst the foams felt supportive, rather than not there, which can be a fault of short-haul seats.
I put this down the time that Expliseat has been working on its products. There are weight savings that have been made due to its construction that will help Hop (even if the recline mechanisms may take away from those yield benefits).
For the short haul mission they have, it’s going to be a benefit to Air France Hop. But I would love to see how these seats hold up in the longer term.
All Images, Economy Class and Beyond
Economy Class and Beyond was a guest of Expliseat and Air France at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2024.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on Twitter, Mastodon, BlueSky, Threads and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
