Rockwood Composites and HAECO Cabin Solutions revolutionise aircraft seating

Rockwood Composites and HAECO Cabin Solutions have announced a partnership that could revolutionise aircraft seating for the business market.

HAECO has commissioned Rockwood to do the tooling on its new Eclipse cabin platform for seat shells and console work.

The business potential for the new seating is huge and there is already a commitment to refit a large fleet for an unnamed Middle East-based airline.

The bespoke seat will feature compound, moulded surfaces and respective tooling design, and will also provide zero production parts, which are first of a kind, and are used to validate that the design meets its intended function and can be manufacturers in a long run.

Eclipse is a new line of premium products that could redefine short-haul business class and long-haul premium economy with patented staggered seating arrangement.

The staggered arrangement provides a similarly luxurious experience to that found of long haul business class flights, while also improving the airline’s route economics.

Jose Pevida, HEACO Cabin Solutions Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Development, said: “The big value Rockwood brings is their high degree of innovation and capability when it comes to composites.”

“We were looking for a way to optimise these structures for weight, strength, and manufacturability. We were aware of their capabilities based on their past success with projects like this.”

“We are delighted to be cooperating with Rockwood. They have shown the aptitude to carefully evaluate our product needs and give us various alternatives in order to arrive at the best choice.”

“They are very detail oriented and don’t try to sell us the first thing that comes to mind, they don’t stop until we have mutually arrived at the best solution.”

Mark Crouchen, Managing Director of Rockwood Composites, said: “To secure the right rigidity, strength and flexibility of the set surround was a real challenge, and one we met head on.”

“Working closely with HAECO Cabin Solutions, we have deployed our expertise in composites to deliver a seat which is fully compliant and could easily be mistaken for a first-class environment.”

“We are looking forward to building this partnership as more and more airlines see the advantage in this innovative manufacturing process.”