SAS’s first Airbus A321LR (long range) aircraft entered official service on 27th March, and details are now available about its business class cabin. SAS, or as it is more formally known, Scandinavian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and it has worked to make the inflight experience on this narrowbody equivalent to that of its widebody aircraft.
The airline has fitted the A321LR with Vantage full-flat bed seats from Thompson Aero Seating, which offer a 76in bed length from a 44in pitch, combining passenger comfort with cabin density. The customised Vantage design for SAS offers a similar level of comfort as the VantageXL seats fitted on SAS’s A350 fleet, giving a consistent passenger experience across a mixed long-haul fleet.
The unique layout of the Vantage seating platform will be familiar to many flyers, combining double seats with broad single seats (often called ‘thrones’). The widebody Vantage can be found on several carriers, such as the Aer Lingus A330 fleet, while the XL version is flying on aircraft including Qantas A330s and Delta A350s.
The narrowbody version is also proving popular, with other recent customers being Singapore Airlines, which is fitting it across its Boeing 737-8 fleet, and JetBlue, which has been flying a heavily customised version in the Mint premium cabins of its A321s since 2014. JetBlue has enjoyed success with the platform and is now launch customer for another Thompson seat in the updated version of Mint: the VantageSOLO model.
SAS collaborated with Thompson and FactoryDesign to customise the Vantage for its A321LR. Photo: Andy Prhat
SAS worked with Thompson and FactoryDesign to make the seat its own, with soft, textured materials and a restful grey and charcoal colour palette applied, with blue accents subtly communicating the SAS brand.
SAS passengers on the A321LR also enjoy features including shoe stowage, a footwell massage bar, a headphone strap and bottle retainer, a cocktail table, leg rest and lumbar support.
Andy Morris, VP commercial at AVIC Cabin Systems, the parent company of Thompson Aero Seating, said of the project: “We worked very closely with SAS to understand their ethos, aims and requirements. We are really pleased with the results of our collaboration. The seats look great, and we hope they will prove hugely popular with SAS’s passengers.”
