When airline passengers travel in coach class, expectations are fairly low with regard to comfort. For example, most seats only offer two positions, straight for takeoff and landing, and a slight recline for the journey. Coach seats are relatively simple and lightweight structures compared to their more sophisticated counterparts in business class, first class, and super first class. Whereas a coach seat weighs approximately 100 lb, seats in higher classes weigh 200 to 300 lb each, depending on their features.
Super first class seats are the most complex, folding flat to 180° for sleeping and featuring infinitely adjustable headrests, footrests, and seatbacks. At a cost of $250,000 to $300,000 per seat – and a spec sheet of 5,000 parts – designers must carefully consider how each component contributes to the overall design. To facilitate smooth and quiet operation, engineers incorporate various linear motion components into their seat designs.
Click here to read the full white paper from ROLLON.