Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Titanium airline seats available

Three Frenchmen have created a titanium seat that could save airlines millions and cram more seats into jetliners. The seat, which consists of 30 parts and is pre-reclined by 18 degrees, is designed for use in the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family of aircraft. Saving fuel is a key concern for airliners, and some have switched to lighter, thinner seats made by Germany's Recaro. But Benjamin Saada, Jean-Charles Samuelian, and Vincent Tejedor created Expliseat in 2011 and have now started selling it. Made from titanium and composites, it's 8.8 pounds, three times lighter than the Recaro seat. (Source: Business Insider, 12/15/14) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., that will open in 2015.