Following certification of Recaro Aircraft Seating’s Qindao facility in China in early 2014, the first BL3520-RAC economy seats have rolled off the assembly line. Shandong Airlines is the first customer for the BL3520-RAC seat, of which the airline has ordered around 3,400 units, to be installed in 21 new Boeing 737 aircraft – with the option to equip additional aircraft with the seats. The seat, intended for use on short- and medium-haul flights, is a special edition of the BL3520 economy seat, which has been adapted to meet the needs of the Asian market.
“We are very pleased about reaching this important milestone at the new Recaro location in Qingdao: Only a few months after officially opening the facility at the end of 2013 and obtaining certification for it in early 2014, we have produced the first seats for our customer, Shandong Airlines. With their delivery, we are now introducing our new product, the BL3520-RAC, in the Chinese market”, stated Dr Mark Hiller, CEO of Recaro Aircraft Seating.
Recaro Aircraft Seating has also announced plans to gradually offer the complete Recaro product portfolio from Qingdao to the Asian market. “Other projects are already in the pipeline,” stated Manfred Büchner, general manager of the Recaro location in China. “We are currently negotiating projects with more than 20 airlines in China. Beyond the Chinese market, a number of customers in the Asia-Pacific region have expressed a strong interest in our products. We will not concentrate just on seats for the economy class, but will also supply airlines with our products for the business class.”
