Gold for Recaro Aircraft Seating

The outstanding design quality of the Recaro BL3520 convinced the panel of experts to choose the seat for top honors in the "Transport/Traffic" category. "This award is widely recognized in the design community and clearly shows us that we have created a product that is consistent in many respects – not only in terms of quality, lightweight engineering and passenger comfort, but also in design," explains Recaro Aircraft Seating CEO Axel Kahsnitz. "The acclaim from the expert judges is all the more rewarding, because we want to stand out from the competition with the Recaro design of our seats. Our engineering department focuses on ‘ingenius design’ with a strong emphasis on functionality, ergonomics and customer benefits. We see awards like this one as an acknowledgement of our work. They also serve as an incentive to continue along the same path."

Compelling seat features

The BL3520 is the latest Recaro Aircraft Seating innovation for the economy class cabin. This new design, which has proven successful since late 2010 in fleet aircraft operated by several different Lufthansa Group airlines, combines several features. The short-haul seat weighs much less than its predecessor. This helps reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, resulting in significantly lower costs for airlines. Furthermore the BL3520 offers passengers more comfort and living space. At the same time, it allows airlines to add more rows of seats in the cabin. This is made possible thanks to a leaner, space-saving backrest combined with patented Recaro solutions including a higher literature pocket.

The qualities of the BL3520 convinced the panel of judges tasked with evaluating the submitted products based on criteria ranging from design and ergonomics, to functionality and emotional impact. In the opinion of the judges, "This is the way an aircraft seat should be: lightweight and comfortable with minimal use of materials. The lean, reductive design adds three inches of space. Small, refined details include a perfectly-placed coat hook and the positioning of the magazine pocket. Along with the added space, lower weight is a key factor: the BL3520 is 30 percent lighter than conventional aircraft seats. The seat cover is also well-designed in terms of color, fabric, trim, finish, and styling."

The Focus Design Award has an excellent reputation in Ger-many as well as other countries and is highly respected for its integrity and non-commercial orientation. This year, manu-facturers and professional designers from all over the world competed for the coveted awards: A total of 357 products were submitted in various categories. All winning products, including the Recaro BL3520, will be on display until November 27, 2011 in the Design Center Stuttgart exhibition at the Werkzentrum Weststadt in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

The "Focus in Gold" is the second award for the BL3520 which Recaro Aircraft Seating received this year. In April 2011, the company was honored with an important aircraft industry prize: It received the Crystal Cabin Award in the "Industrial Design/Interior Concept" category for the BL3520 at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany.