All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the star of this morning’s activities at the Paris Air Show, as it has unveiled ‘The Room FX’, its new business-class seat for the Boeing 787-9, which the airline says is “the world’s largest seat in its class on a mid-sized aircraft”.
The seat has been designed by the Japanese airline’s in-house experts, in partnership with Safran Seats (a French aircraft seat manufacturer) and Acumen (a UK-based British design consultancy). The suite design, the result of several years of development from concept to commercialisation, builds upon the design principles of the larger Boeing 777-300ER seat, branded as ‘THE Room’, which launched in 2019.
The ‘FX’ in the name ‘The Room FX’ stands for Future Experience. That experience includes flexibility, greater living space, and more comforts.
The living space in the seat has been reconfigured from the B777 model with refined design elements, including thinner backrests, partition walls and privacy doors (each of the 48 seats has a door). The alternating front and rear facing seat arrangement (1-2-1 at a 103in pitch) optimises the use of space in the Boeing 787 cabin, with the aim of creating a spatial experience comparable to that of a larger aircraft.
The FX seat is significantly wider than ANA’s current B787-9 long-haul seat (41.5in vs 21in), with a pre-reclining function that transforms the backrest into a sofa-like space in which passengers can relax in a variety of positions, aided by the more curved lines of the backrest area.
The adjustable leg rest can then be deployed, to convert the sofa into a bed. The design partners worked to simplify the seat mechanisms, which reduces weight and maintenance requirements, while also enabling new comfort positions, creating more space for passenger items on the large side console, and opening up more bed space.
Customers can also relax and view the 24in HD IFE monitor, which is 1.4 times larger than that found in the current B787-9 long-haul seat. Other tech enhancements include USB Type-A and Type-C power, wireless charging facilities, and Bluetooth audio connectivity – each of which is a first application onboard ANA aircraft.
Remarkably, given the larger hardware and extra features of the new seat, ANA says it is comparable in weight to the current B787-9 model, mostly due to those new thinner panels and doors. And seat count remains unchanged from the 48-seat configuration of ANA’s long-haul B787-9s.
ANA will gradually introduce ‘The Room FX’ seats in 2026 on major long-haul international routes.
“‘The Room FX’ project is a result of a profound long-standing partnership between ANA, Acumen and Safran, shaped by years of trust, creativity and innovation,” said Ian Dryburgh, CEO and founder of Acumen. “Building on the success and DNA of the ‘The Room’ B777, this next-generation suite elevates the flying experience with a rare balance of comfort, flexibility and elegant engineering. This is a refreshingly original and market-leading business-class product that we believe will exceed passengers’ expectations for many years to come.”
“This new business class seat represents a step-change in comfort, versatility, and innovative design for the Boeing 787-9,” added Victoria Foy, president and CEO of Safran Seats. “By combining our engineering expertise with ANA’s commitment to passenger excellence and Acumen’s creative vision, we are setting new benchmarks in the world of premium air travel.”
