Passengers on some Frontier flights will soon find a new seat on board. The carrier resumed its fleet refresh efforts with the induction of new Airbus A320neo aircraft featuring the Recaro SL3710 seat from nose to tail.
It is the first aircraft to be equipped with the SL3710 in North America. The plane entered service on Tuesday with a flight from Orlando to Newark.
Efficiency was a tremendous driving force behind customizing the seat and resulted in a 30% weight reduction for each seat. This is a testament to what can happen if we work together towards sustainable goals, and I look forward to partnering with Frontier Airlines on other similar efforts in the future.
– Dr. Mark Hiller, CEO and Shareholder at Recaro Aircraft Seating
The new seats will be featured on Frontier’s 155 aircraft currently on order, in addition to the one that debuted this week. The seats are part of a major deal between Recaro Aircraft Seating, part of Germany’s world-renowned seat design and manufacturing company Recaro Group, and Indigo Partners, which owns a portfolio of airlines, including Frontier.
The Frontier A320neo will fly with 186 seats on board. The A321neo will fly with 240.
We are in continuous pursuit of leading-edge strategies to reduce our environmental footprint and, at the same time, reduce fuel costs, which enables us to pass savings on to consumers in the form of lower fares. We thank our partners at Recaro for working with us to achieve this innovative design.
– Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Airlines
Frontier and Recaro worked together to customize the SL3710, delivering a solution that weighs just 8 kg per seat. Revamped armrests and a larger tray table compared to the older Acro seats on the rest of the Frontier fleet are also part of the revised offering.
Frontier chose to not offer power of any sort at the seat. The company also declined a tablet/PED holder option that could’ve helped passengers choosing to watch their own screens for entertainment on board. And while the company suggests the larger tray table will accommodate a laptop the overall space on board raises some questions about just how viable that will be.
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