April 7 2016, 18.14 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Chandigarh, 7 April 2016 – AirAsia has signed an agreement with Mirus Aircraft Seating Ltd to be the launch customer for the aircraft seating manufacturer’s new Hawk slimline economy seat. The deal will see AirAsia retrofit all existing and new Airbus A320 aircraft with the lightweight seats.
AirAsia has also selected Mirus to provide the Hawk for its Airbus A320neo fleet, upon regulatory approval.
The Hawk is made from a fully composite frame and utilises fewer moving parts, making it close to 40 percent lighter than conventional seats. The seat has been engineered to deliver significant cabin space and weight savings while preserving passenger comfort.
The announcement and official signing took place at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany, where Mirus is a first-time exhibitor.
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said Mirus was chosen due to its strong innovation culture, advanced design and manufacturing capabilities as well as its commitment to delivering affordable, customised solutions.
“Innovation is the lifeblood of AirAsia and these new lightweight seats will ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of cabin experience while still maintaining cost leadership and delivering the same great flying experience for our guests,” he said.
AirAsia Group Head of Engineering Anaz Ahmad Tajuddin said, “AirAsia is always keen to work with companies that look for new, inventive ways to enhance customer experience. Through Tony’s association with Formula One, we have been able to work with Mirus, who are experts in composite materials, to develop these innovative seats.”
He added, “We admire their willingness to think beyond the boundaries of traditional economy seat design in interpreting our vision. Our guests are at the core of everything we do, and we are happy to achieve our aims of a more ergonomic passenger seat while also ensuring our aircraft are as economical and fuel efficient as possible.”
Mirus CEO Phil Hall said the Hawk was an optimised blend of comfort, elegance, affordability and class-leading weight proposition that guarantees low cost of continued ownership due to its simple yet robust design.
“AIX has established itself as the venue to showcase groundbreaking advances in passenger travel experience, and I believe there is no better place to launch Mirus and the Hawk,” he said.
AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with over 100 destinations. Within 15 years of operations, AirAsia has carried more than 330 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to over 170. The airline is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Japan, servicing a network stretching across all Asean countries and beyond. AirAsia has been named World’s Best Low Cost Airline by Skytrax for seven consecutive years from 2009 to 2015. AirAsia is the first airline globally to collaborate with INTERPOL to implement the I-Checkit system to screen the passports of all prospective passengers against information contained in the world police body’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.
About Mirus Aircraft Seating
Mirus Aircraft Seating is a new British entrant in the aircraft seating market. With decades of expertise from automotive and formula one industries, Mirus will be using these best practices as they rapidly expand staff numbers and production facilities at their 60,000 PAX base in Norfolk. Mirus will be launching both the company and its first generation short-range economy seat to the interiors industry at AIX 2016 in Hamburg.