B/E Aerospace (now named Rockwell Collins) has secured a launch customer for its new Aspire wide-body main cabin seating platform. The seat will debut on the new-buy and retrofit wide-body aircraft fleet of this as-yet undisclosed “major international airline”.
The Aspire seat is billed as B/E Aerospace’s “next generation seating product” for wide-body main cabin seating, designed for enhanced living space and increased leg and shin clearance, as well as a high level of integration with advanced IFE systems. B/E also claims that Aspire will be the industry’s lightest fully featured wide-body main cabin seat.
“We are pleased that the launch customers for both our Aspire and Meridian [a narrow-body main cabin seating platform launching with Southwest Airlines] seating platforms are leading global airlines. The introduction of the Aspire and Meridian seating platforms build upon the tremendous success of Pinnacle and highlights the emphasis that B/E Aerospace places on R&D investments and highly engineered patented designs. These innovative products are continuing to drive substantial market share gains in the main cabin seating marketplace,” commented Amin J. Khoury, executive chairman of B/E Aerospace.
“The launch of the Aspire and Meridian seating platforms further strengthens our record backlog and underlies our confidence in our growth outlook. Thus far, seven airlines have placed combined orders of more than US$400 million for these products. Our position as the leading provider of aircraft cabin interior products is evidenced by our continued market success, having won more than 75% of super first class seating awards, approximately 50% of business class and main cabin seating awards, and more than 85% of food and beverage preparation and storage equipment awards over the last two years.”
