Recaro equips short and medium-haul aircraft from TAP with SL3510 and BL3530 seats

Ingenious Design “made by Recaro”

SCHWAEBISCH HALL, Germany / LISBON, Portugal. TAP, the leading Portuguese airline, is updating cabin equipment for its short and medium-haul aircraft with seats from Recaro Aircraft Seating, the German aircraft seat manufacturer. To date, some aircraft out of the 41 A320 family included in the retrofit program from the company’s Airbus fleet have been equipped with Recaro’s SL3510 and BL3530 seats. Recaro is delivering over 6,600 lightweight seats to the Star Alliance member for cabin retrofitting of its A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.

The premiere with the new Recaro seats on board took place on October 30, 2016. TAP’s “Gago Coutinho” Airbus A319 completed its first flight with the new cabin equipment from Lisbon to Luxembourg. Layout optimization allows twelve more seats to fit into the cabin of the A319 and A320 aircraft. With the TAP A321 aircraft’s new cabin configuration, there are an additional 16 seats on board. Passenger comfort has been enhanced thanks to outstanding ergonomics and lightweight design from Recaro.

Dr. Mark Hiller, Recaro’s Chief Executive Officer and Shareholder, says: “We are proud to be able to contribute to the satisfaction of passengers on board the new aircraft with our highly comfortable seats. We look forward to successfully continuing our long-term partnership with TAP. With our seats, every converted aircraft will be up to 700 kilograms lighter. This contributes to reduced kerosene costs and emissions. Recaro’s Ingenious Design combines the best in comfort and enhanced spaciousness for passengers with economic advantages and environmental benefits.”

The Recaro SL3510 is currently one of the world’s lightest economy class seats, weighing in at around nine kilograms. Thanks to the use of lightweight materials, it weighs 40 percent less than conventional seats in this class. Honored with the “Crystal Cabin Award”, the SL3510 provides the highest standard of quality, design and passenger comfort. Due to the reduction of components, the seat’s maintenance costs are exceptionally low.

Practical in-flight entertainment ideas for connecting personal electronic devices, new, contemporary styling elements, as well as practical storage solutions for tablet PCs, smartphones or e-readers rank among the unique features of the BL3530. Thanks to the narrow, space-saving backrest, the BL3530 enables remarkably efficient cabin seating with spacing of 28 to 34 inches, along with enhanced comfort for passengers.

“The SL3510 and BL3530 seats from Recaro fit in perfectly with our new cabin equipment and rank among the best seats in the industry. We are delighted that the first upgrades have been so successful and that we have a strong and reliable partner at our side with Recaro,” says Trey Urbahn, Chief Commercial Officer of TAP Portugal.

Press contact

RECARO Aircraft Seating GmbH & Co. KG
Daimlerstr. 21
74523 Schwäbisch Hall
Germany
Phone: +49 791 503-5500
E-Mail