SE AT ING INNOVAT ION
The world’s thinnest
aircraft seat?
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
JUNE 2020 059
JIATAI AIRMATE
The AirMate is a new economy class seating
platform for single-aisle aircraft, featuring
engineering solutions with a focus on decreasing
seat weight. Jiatai has not disclosed the specific
weight of the seat, but claims it is more than
20% lighter than some comparable models.
Weight, reliability and ease of maintenance
have been a major design focus, with notable
features being the use of foams instead of
a conventional seat pan, and the integrated
composite moulded seatback.
The modular design enables easy customisation,
including multiple stowage options. Examples
include a multi-functional stowage box with a PED
holder, a spectacles clamp, a restraining strap for
small items, a stowage box behind the seatback
tray table, and a mini table that extends the
tray-table surface.
Comfort features include a net to relieve
pressure on the feet, a curved headrest for
side support, and a ‘blanket clamp’ to prevent
blankets sliding off the passenger.
• Suitable for: B737,
A320 & C919
• Certified by: FAA,
EASA & CAAC
• Minimum pitch: 28in
Pitch Aircraft Seating
Systems has developed
an economy seat for singleaisle
fleets that it believes is
”the world’s thinnest aircraft seat
yet conceived”. The seat, named the Q
Ultra-Slim, has been co-developed as
part of a grant-funded project through
the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute
(ATI), an entity which is pursuing
innovative technologies that will benefit
the aviation sector.
While a slimline design benefits weight,
so too does the composite construction,
which substitutes aluminium structural
seat components with sustainable,
FST-compliant bio-resins formed in
a compression moulding process. The
result is a one-piece seat with a claimed
weight of just over 7kg. Pitch claims
that the operating weight of a shorthaul
Airbus A320 could be reduced
by a minimum of 500kg through the
replacement of standard economy
seats with these lighter equivalents.
The Q Ultra-Slim project is a
collaboration between Pitch, the Design
Q industrial design consultancy, and
Cecence, a composites manufacturing
and advanced engineering specialist, with
additional support from SHD Composite
Materials, Wavelength NDT, and Plyable.
Gary Doy, chief designer at Pitch
Aircraft Seating, comments, “This
collaborative project challenges future
aircraft cabin design and inflight service,
as well as seating, so it is truly innovative
and potentially controversial, but this is
an important part of helping the industry
improve its environmental credentials.”
For example, to achieve the pared-back
design the team sacrificed the traditional
tray table, leaving the option of integrated
cup and smartphone holders. Comfort
has been addressed through an upgraded
cushion system.
The one-piece
Q Ultra-Slim
weighs just
over 7kg
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com