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AIX2010: Optimares makes show debut with business and economy seat range

May 18, 2010

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS 2010: New Italian seat manufacturer Optimares has made its show debut with a range of four seat types – two economy class, a premium economy and a business/first offering.

The economy class pairing split into a long-haul and a short-haul, the former – named Cube – designed with slightly greater pitch and embedded IFE. The short-haul seat – Key – according to Optimares CEO Alessandro Braca, weighs in at 12.5 kg. “We can get it down to 9 kg if we take it to its most basic with no recline or padded headrest. But we wanted to offer something more than the basic for airlines who want to give their passengers more,” he explained.

The business/first seat, Zest (pictured), is 24 inches wide and has an 80-inch pitch. Formatted in a side-by-side, forward/rear-facing combination, the whole seat is driven by sensors and motors. A passenger arriving at the seat switches on at a control panel and then everything is taken care of. The sensors recognise occupancy, rising to leave the seat and even if the passenger is leaving something behind, say a book, on the storage tray.

Although aimed at the top end of the market, the lightness of the Zest seat, according to Braca, could make it interesting for anyone aiming to deliver long-haul, low-fare with a premium offering too.

Bernie Baldwin, editor, Inflight Online/Low-Fare & Regional Airlines/LARAnews.net

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