Popular aircraft seating manufacturer Collins Aerospace has just revealed its newest business class product, designed specifically for narrow body aircraft. This is a big focus in the aircraft seating industry, given that we’re increasingly seeing longer range narrow body jets, like the Airbus A321XLR.
In this post:
Collins Aerospace’s new business class seat
Collins Aerospace has just revealed Aurora, its first lie flat business class seat designed exclusively for narrow body aircraft. For context, Collins Aerospace is also the company that manufactures the Super Diamond and Diamond business class seats, which you’ll find on many airlines.
The new Collins Aerospace Aurora product is in a herringbone 1-1 configuration, with all seats facing the aisle. Here are some of the key features of this product:
- The seat width is maximized to give passengers more room than existing solutions
- Passengers are seated deeper into the seat back and next to the window, intended to increase privacy and allow for a 78″ bed length
- The configuration is designed to be efficient for airlines, with the cabin incorporated directly into front and aft structures; this means that the first row of the cabin won’t have some “business class plus” product with extra space, but rather there will be additional galley space there
- Airline customers have the choice of introducing this product with or without a door at each seat
- The suite shell can be modified to include a privacy divider if traveling with a companion; it’s not entirely clear what this would look like, but the idea is that the partition between seats could be lowered somewhat if traveling with someone
- The seat has a storage compartment in the back corner, and also has a personal device holder on the tray table
Collins Aerospace has already received orders for the new Aurora seat, and it should debut in 2024 (though the first customers haven’t been named).
Below you can see some pictures of the Collins Aerospace Aurora product.
My take on the Collins Aerospace Aurora seat
Collins Aerospace is a great seating manufacturer, though I think it’s safe to say that there’s nothing earth shattering here.
For one, this looks similar to Thompson Aero’s VantageSOLO product, which is what the new JetBlue Mint seat is. That’s also a herringbone seat facing the aisle with a door. There are a few minor differences with this new Collins Aerospace product, like a larger storage compartment, the ability to have a privacy divider, and the lack of a business class “plus” product in the first row.
However, if you ask me, this doesn’t look as good as STELIA Aerospace’s OPERA product, which is a reverse herringbone product intended specifically for narrow body jets. I of course understand the unique space constraints that single aisle jets face, but reverse herringbone is the evolution of herringbone seating, so it’s nice to see seats that don’t essentially take us back one generation.
Similarly, the Safran VUE product also features reverse herringbone seats, and FlyDubai will be the launch customer for this on its upcoming Boeing 737 MAX deliveries.
So I’d say the new product from Collins Aerospace looks perfectly fine. It’s a solid product that strikes the balance between passenger comfort and maximizing space. However, I doubt it’s going to be the best narrow body business class seat out there.
Bottom line
Collins Aerospace has debuted Aurora, its new single aisle business class product. While Collins Aerospace is best known for its reverse herringbone seat, this is a herringbone product, meaning all seats face the aisle. The product is quite customizable, and is designed to maximize comfort and efficiency.
You can expect to see this seat onboard flights as of 2024, as the seating manufacturer already has a couple of unnamed customers.
What do you make of the new Collins Aerospace Aurora seat?
Feels claustrophobic. The window is behind the passenger so you have to turn your head awkwardly to look out. To me the best show on the road is out the window.
Not much different from the current product
At first glance, these look even tighter and more claustrophobic than the Virgin Atlantic "coffin" seats :-( Doesn't look very appealing to me.
I don’t like these coffins they are installing. Privacy is great but this looks claustrophobic. I love seeing pics of old FC on the 747 - all that open space!
I really hope that this (and the other narrow-body herringbone model) fails, and that most airlines pick the reverse herringbone options. Recently flew the new Jetblue Mint ”suites”, and wasn’t impressed. I just can’t relax in the herringbone layout, and I don’t get why they’re suddently becoming popular again after being phased out and replaced by reverse herringbone seats.
My first reaction was that I would prefer reverse herringbone. But a comment in the article about increased privacy being by the window resonated with me. The more I think about it, the more I like being able to see the cabin in general which facing "out" brings. It's not unlike I prefer to sit in restaurants with my back to the wall and have my home office set up with my back to a wall or corner looking into the room and toward the door.
If a widebody has a 1+2+1 configuration in J, why cannot the same seats be used in a 1+1 configuration on a narrowbody, just leave the center seats out?
Cabin width shouldn't be an issue as a narrowbody has 3+3 seats in Y and a widebody 8 or 9, so there should be more than enough space. What am I missing here?
Cabin density I presume
You would have super wide aisles and a lot of wasted space.
Time to drop that weight
Business class flights should come with Ozempic treatment.
Wow those look narrow
I've got flashbacks to the Cathay 747 UD business class....that's not a good thing.
Looks tight...and I don't see a comfortable location to place a drink without trapping myself with the tray.
Looks like a long term mistake is about to be thrust upon us.
I understand the commercial reasons for extended range single isle airplanes. Personally I am and will continue more so avoiding them like the plague for anything longer than ~6hours in flight. Find them cramped, uncomfortable. Seat arrangements are always a disadvantage compared to wide bodies, lavatories are cramped, fewer and size restricted galley. Just feels like a big step backwards for air travel in every way.
The collins seat and herringbone orientation is claustrophobic,...
I understand the commercial reasons for extended range single isle airplanes. Personally I am and will continue more so avoiding them like the plague for anything longer than ~6hours in flight. Find them cramped, uncomfortable. Seat arrangements are always a disadvantage compared to wide bodies, lavatories are cramped, fewer and size restricted galley. Just feels like a big step backwards for air travel in every way.
The collins seat and herringbone orientation is claustrophobic, looks very narrow. Seated away from the isle, reaching for drinks/food, orienting your crotch towards the flight attendant, no thank you. No 321LR/XLR, hopefully most airlines wont buy them and keep their narrowbodies for shorter flights only.
Maybe next generation planes with wing integrated design allow more space and a different setup - 1-1-1 twin isle with 2-3-2 eco. F can then be 1-1.
Good argument . . . but i think, you will see A LOT more narrowbody planes going all over with new and fancy Business product, incl. such seating options, as it's easier to market such things.
More and more airlines increase frequencies on exactly the routes these planes can fly and they need to compete with big rivals, ONLY airline i know that still could feg away with NO real Business Class yet is...
Good argument . . . but i think, you will see A LOT more narrowbody planes going all over with new and fancy Business product, incl. such seating options, as it's easier to market such things.
More and more airlines increase frequencies on exactly the routes these planes can fly and they need to compete with big rivals, ONLY airline i know that still could feg away with NO real Business Class yet is Icelandair . . . i bet, they have to move forward soon too!
So those 321LR/XLR will be the big future of airlines around the globe, i think you need to get used to that? . . . just like i'm finding it harder and harder to go to certain places as ONLY 738MAX planes go there, so i avoid such destinations.
Traveling used to be so easy ;-) Not anymore.
Could not agree more. Will be interesting to see if most people share this opinion and Airlines start seeing some struggle to sell 6+ hour flights on narrow bodies when there are also wide bodies on the same route.
Sadly, most travelers seem seem to want high frequency of service more than more comfortable service, so less frequent widebody service is being replaced by higher frequency narrowbody service. I don't like it any more than Name does but I fear that is our future.
Space per passenger shouldn't really change just because it's a wide VS narrow body.
However, one real issue to raise is that the A321Neo is slower than thevwidebodies and sits on M0.77 for cruise with a Vno of 0.82. Meanwhile, a 787-8 sits on M0.85 with a Vno of M0.90. The 757\767s speed sits in between the two.
So you're looking at flights being 10% longer if replacing a 787 and 5% longer when replacing 757/767s
Jeepers, that looks "tight"...
As a “passenger of size” I have no idea how I’ll fit through the seat door and contort myself backwards. Never mind wedging myself out from that coffin thin seat. This development is kinda sad for me. Now I’m realizing I prefer the old Turkish and Lufthansa business class more.