WOLLSDORF LEATHER has succeeded in developing a unique, innovative leather, which the renowned German seat manufacturer RECARO will be using for a completely new airplane seat.
Compared to traditional airplane leather, the newly developed material offers weight savings of 40 %. This “lightness” was achieved by reducing the specific density of the leather – without, of course, compromising any of its tensile strength. The leather used for these seats is furthermore manufactured by means of an alternative, environmentally friendly tanning process which no longer requires the use of chromium.
Due to its continuous perforation, the leather is also extremely breathable.
In order to improve the product’s dirt resistance, it was also treated with WOLLSDORF LEATHER’s newly developed “Surface Protection System” (SPS), which improves the material’s soiling characteristics many times over, in particular for light colors. SPS furthermore ensures simple and quick cleaning of dirty leather surfaces, which constitutes a huge advantage for airlines.
Customer tests, during which the seat was evaluated by more than 300 frequent flyers, delivered convincing results, with high scores in the areas of foot space, leg room and possibility for stretching the legs.
Due to the lightweight construction of the new seats, passengers gain up to 10 cm of additional legroom. At the same time, the seating capacity per aircraft is increased, on average, by one row of seats. This will allow Lufthansa, for example, to offer 2,000 additional seats, which corresponds to the capacity of twelve Airbus A320 aircraft.
In total, Lufthansa will receive 32,000 new airplane seats equipped with WOLLSDORF LEATHER, while Austrian Airlines has agreed to purchase 4,600 units. Compared to the seats currently in use, this conversion will reduce the aircrafts’ total weight by 60 tons.
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