At Aircraft Interiors Expo, All Nippon Airways (ANA) launched their new seats, in collaboration with Recaro Aircraft Seating – continuing a 35 year partnership.
ANA and Recaro Launching their new seat – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The seats, blending advanced ergonomics with stylish design, will be rolled out on ANA’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft, starting in fiscal 2026. They are part of a move by ANA to be dedicated to enhancing passenger comfort and value, and this latest move underscores the airline’s relentless pursuit of innovation and customer satisfaction.
The Premium Economy Seat is based on the Recaro R4, whilst the Economy Class Seat is based on the Recaro R3.
The new seats redefine passenger comfort, especially on long-haul flights. Leveraging the latest ergonomics, comfort features and technology, this model showcases optimized seat pitch and reclining capabilities.
They also boast a large, high-performance monitor, ample storage space and convenient USB Type C charging facilities, Bluetooth audio connectivity. It will be introduced sequentially on Boeing 787-9 long-haul international aircraft scheduled to be introduced in fiscal 2026.
Premium Economy
In Premium Economy, the seat pitch has been increased by 2 inches (approx.5 centimetres) to 40 inches (approx.101 centimetres) – one of the highest in global standards. In terms of reclining, it reclines 2 inches (approx. 5 centimetres) more than the conventional seat* making the total recline to 9 inches (approx. 23 centimetres) to allow passengers to relax even on long-haul flights
It’s finished in a grey patterned fabric, with wings on the side for privacy. The legrests extend, with a footrest extension available for use.
Economy Class
The seat pitch of 33-34 inches (approx. 84～86 centimetres) and the space around the knees has been redesigned to provide an additional 1 inch (2.5 centimetres) of space, which is the largest standard in the economy class. Liker to Premium Economy Class, the seat recline has been increased by 2 inches (approx. 5 centimetres) – 1.5 times the previous seat space for improved comfort. This is one of the world’s highest pitch and amount of recline for an economy class seat.
Talking to the ANA representatives, the seat pattern variability is on purpose – so to engage the discovery process when passengers board. It also looks quite nice, fitting into the ANA and Japanese colour languages.
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In Quotes
Tomoji Ishii, Executive Vice President, Customer Experience Management and Planning of ANA
“ANA is committed to continually elevating the passenger experience and the new seats represent our ongoing investment in providing customers with greater comfort and convenience on our international flights,”
“. We will continue to seek out and implement innovative solutions to enhance every aspect of the passenger journey with ANA.”
Dr. Mark Hiller, CEO of RECARO Aircraft Seating and RECARO Holding added
We are honored to partner with All Nippon Airways and introduce our R3 and R4 seating solutions,”
“These seats exemplify the drive and dedication of RECARO for innovation, by offering enhanced ergonomics, increased living space and innovative connectivity features.” “The new seats truly represent the strength and success of our ongoing partnership with ANA,” adds Irene Tan, General Manager of RECARO Asia Pacific. “We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration in the future.”
Rollout
All Nippon Airways will be accepting delivery of three Boeing 787-9s with these new seats in 2026, along with a new undisclosed business class. They will also be aiming to refit the existing fleet, with this work scheduled for 2027.
Economy Class and Beyond will go in deeper into this in our post-show coverage – although ANA’s will be hard to beat, especially with additional passenger space.
All Images, Economy Class and Beyond
Economy Class and Beyond was a guest of ANA and Recaro Aircraft Seating at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2025.
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