This is the latest in a series of firsts for the market-leading business-class seat manufacturer based in Portadown, County Armagh, with the honour and prestige of being selected to create the business-class seating for this new category of aircraft.
Flying up to 11 hours or 5,400 miles, the new A321 XLR has been introduced by Airbus as the first narrow-body, single-aisle aircraft to connect distant destinations, such as New York to Rome and Sydney to Kuala Lumpur.
A major advantage of using single-aisle aircraft for long- and even extra-long haul is that the A321 XLR has a 30% lower fuel burn per seat than previous generations of aircraft.
Selecting the Thompson VantageSOLO seat, the Spanish airline, Iberia, is the first to take flight with the new A321 XLR and their passengers will enjoy the benefits of 14 business class seats on each aircraft.
Each seat converts into a fully flat bed at the touch of a button and allows passengers to work, relax, dine and sleep in luxury.
Thompson’s in-house design and engineering teams designed its VantageSOLO seat specifically to offer the same level of comfort and luxury on single-aisle aircraft as has come to be expected on twin-aisle aircraft, making it the perfect choice for single-aisle extra-long-haul routes.
Thompson will deliver a fleet of eight aircraft for Iberia, adding another significant order to the growing orderbook that will support the continued growth and development of the company, creating further job opportunities in Northern Ireland.
James McNally, Programme Manager, Thompson Aero Seating, says: “It has been very exciting to see seats that we have created from scratch take flight on a totally new breed of aircraft. The team is working incredibly hard to successfully deliver this order with some functions in the factory running 24hrs across three shifts. It is a huge team effort and one that has been very rewarding.”
These latest seats for Iberia are, as with the whole of the Vantage range, designed, engineered and manufactured by Thompson and delivered from its facilities in Portadown and Banbridge. They have been customised to the specific requirements of the aircraft and the individual airline brands. Research, development and airworthiness certification all take place in Thompson’s own newly-built Engineering Centre, which encompasses its Dynamic Test Facility (DTF), where the dynamic conditions of a full-scale crash event can be reproduced.
Jonny McGreevy, VP Engineering, Thompson Aero Seating, says: “We have an incredibly skilled and dedicated workforce and the company has great ambitions of where this will take us. We are investing in people and facilities all the time. Aircraft seating is a very strong market and we are delighted to be at the forefront of innovation within it.”