Air India selects RECARO seats for Boeing 777 and 787-8 retrofits along with the A350-900 / 787-9

Air India’s widebody retrofit, a USD 400 Million exercise, will see the airline change everything from the outside paint on the aircraft to the seats and the cabin layout. The intention is to make these aircraft “as good as new.” It is a big project for everyone in the aviation ecosystem and big bucks for everyone involved.

Air India selects RECARO for Economy and Premium Economy seating on retrofit projects.

Air India’s 777 and 787 fleet retrofits will start in the second half of 2024, as discussed with Air India management. The first aircraft to go in for a retrofit will be a 787-8, and this exercise will be fully completed by the end of 2025. However, beyond a video of the 777, Air India had yet to indicate which seat models would be selected.  We predicted the RECARO PL3530 and CL3710, though, and these are precisely the models that RECARO confirmed.

RECARO Aircraft Seating indicates that more than 22,000 RECARO seats will be installed in both line fit and retrofit programs over the next five to six years, which will involve the Boeing 787-8, the 777-300ERs and also the A350-900 and the 787-9 aircraft due to be delivered to the airline.

Air India has chosen the CL3710 and the new CL3810 for economy class, while the premium PL3530 will outfit the premium economy cabin. The first phase of this collaboration involves retrofitting 40 B787 and B777 aircraft with CL3710 and PL3530 seats, which are set to enter service in 2024 and 2025. The same seat configuration shall be maintained for 12 A350 and B787-9 line-fit aircraft entering service in 2025.

The PL3530, designed for premium economy class passengers, offers unparalleled comfort, functionality, ample stowage, and a generous 7” recline.

a row of red and white seats in an airplane

The RECARO PL3530 seat in Air India colours

a close up of a seat

The RECARO PL3530 seat in Air India colours

The economy CL3710, a recipient of multiple design accolades, features a six-way adjustable headrest with neck support, enhancing sleeping comfort. As per RECARO, the CL3710 has a striking 50% market share on the A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft seating.

a row of red seats on an airplane

The RECARO CL3710 seat in Air India colours

Beyond 2025, the Air India A350 and 787-9 aircraft that will be delivered will feature the CL3810 and PL3530 seats in the economy and premium economy cabins, respectively.

The CL3810 combines comfort innovations and a sleek, modern aesthetic for economy-class travellers. Lufthansa has picked the CL3810 for its widebodies and that of Swiss, and by Qatar Airways as well, who is the launch customer of the seat. It will be interesting to see if Air India picks the winged headrest on these seats. Also, Qantas’ Project Sunrise A350s will be equipped with these seats, so there is quite the pedigree of demanding customers on the roster already.

Bottomline

RECARO will supply about 22,000 seats to Air India to retrofit their Boeing 787 and 777 jets and later for the airline’s A350 and 787-9 aircraft. The RECARO seats supplied will be fitted in the Premium Economy and Economy sections of Air India’s widebody aircraft.

What do you think of the seat choices made by Air India?


Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.

.

About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

More articles by Ajay »

Comments

  1. Hi Ajay, l have looked for a while on every site l could find to see how the refurbished Air India 787 business class was doing, very hard to find anything, we use the LGW – GOX route often and have had deadful cabin expieriences, as well as the poorest standard of food that could be considerd food. Do you or anyone have any up to date imformation on the 787 progress. Anything appreciated.

    • @Derek, the refurbishment hasn’t started yet, and hence, you have not seen any updates here or anywhere else. Air India “hopes” to start the retrofit for its widebodies in early 2025. The timeline was postponed after they failed to acquire certified seats in time for the retrofit in 2024.

  2. I recently flew on an Indigo flight with RECARO seats installed, which can be easily identified by their branding on every seat. The seat cushions were so thin that my bottom started aching even on a 50-minute flight. I was sitting in the front seats, the so-called “Premium seats.”

    • @JAX, the front or back on the seats does not matter on IndiGo; they are all padded the same. Having said that, Air India can always pad the seats more, and most probably they will, because these will be used on 5-15 hour long flights, so the comfort requirement is very different compared to IndiGo’s usual 2-4 hour segments.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *