RECARO’s outlook for the next year is a bright one, following the unveiling of its newly customised R2 fixed back seats on Southwest’s 737 fleet at AIX in May, according to its CEO, Mark Hiller. 

Originally announced back in February, the R2 seat will feature a multi-adjustable headrest cushion, backrest with lumbar support, and a new armrest design that maximises seat width. 

Dr Mark Hiller, CEO of RECARO Aircraft Seating said to LARA that this recent event was the culmination of an epic 25-year journey by the manufacturer to score the US low-fare giant as a customer.  

 “We have a good market share in the Americas, but Southwest was never a customer for us. It was always our target to win them for Recaro,” he said.  

The testing of the seat and discussion between the pair was rigorous, Hiller added, taking place over two years with over 100,000 people evaluating the practicality and maintenance ‘friendliness’ of the seat. In the end, it was the seats’ reliability and manoeuvrability that won out.

“It’s a robust seat, because they [Southwest] are flying to many destinations where they don’t have a maintenance base. So, they really depend on having very reliable seats,” he elaborated.  

New Seat Names 

Southwest as a customer is not the only new discussion point for RECARO, as it also debuted a new simplified seat naming concept for its collection of seating solutions. The so-called ‘R Sphere’, with names, ranging from R1 to R7, reflect the various classes and complexities of the seat, from the short to med range, economy class (R1 and R2) to R7 (lie-flat business class). The reason for this change, Hiller explained, was influenced partly by customer feedback.  

“[Many customers] were questioning why it [the seating names] were so complicated,” he said. “However, it more or less came from the foundation of the company. […] We said it would be good to have a product name which is somehow linked to the brand and to a hierarchy order.”  

Whilst the name change was worked out “before COVID”, different priorities for the company since then put this change on hold until its announcement in 2024.  

Meeting Demand and Future Plans 

As a manufacturer with a roster of different airline customers in its portfolio, from the recently announced airBaltic’s A220 fleet, to Southwest, easyJet, Indigo, Condor, and Malaysia Airlines, in the last six months alone, RECARO has welcomed a lot of business. 

With two sites in Europe, two in the United States, and one in Asia, despite the ramp up by airframe OEMs, and bumper orders from airlines, Hiller is confident that RECARO has more than enough capacity to meet demand – particularly having kept its capacity during COVID. 

“Now it’s about really ramping up all the sites and filling [them] again. […] The structure, the infrastructure, the knowledge, the experience is already there. And now it’s about the ramp up.” 

He added: “We’re also looking into capacities for the next five to ten years. But overall, we’re very confident that we have the right setup with our sites in Europe and Asia, and in the US.”  

RECARO has made its name solidly in the economy class market, with three of its seven newly renamed seats placed in economy cabins across the world. It currently has 35% market share in the economy class seating sector, and 10% in business class. But looking ahead, Hiller gives LARA a hint at what might be next for the company.  

“Our plan is to become the market leader in business class. We’re thinking long term, and step by step, with our investments, we see that our market share will definitely increase.”  

“Many more announcements” are in the pipeline, he confirmed, focusing on “business class programmes” that it will soon deliver on. Watch this space.  

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