STELIA Aerospace unveils RENDEZ-VOUS Business Class seat: STELIA Aerospace has officially launched the next-generation RENDEZ-VOUS, setting a new benchmark for luxury, flexibility, and comfort in business class seating. Unveiled today at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2025, this reinvention of the 2023-launched RENDEZ-VOUS is not just an upgrade—it’s a transformation, designed to cater to the evolving needs of modern air travel. Retaining its signature “sofa” layout and renowned spaciousness, the new RENDEZ-VOUS® delivers unparalleled comfort and an exclusive “home-in-the-sky” experience. However, the 2025 edition brings a host of groundbreaking enhancements, including: Increased personal space & enhanced ergonomics – A reengineered layout; offers more room to stretch, relax, and work, ensuring a seamless long-haul experience. It also includes optimised privacy features – Redesigned partitioning and smart configurations provide personalised comfort, ideal for both business and leisure travellers and smart storage solutions – maximised storage options keep personal belongings within reach, yet discreetly out of sight.
Mirus Aircraft Seating offers a first look at its latest next generation seats: Mirus Aircraft Seating unveiled several new products at AIX this year. It included a first viewing of its new Osprey seat, marking its first ever premium economy seating offering. Showing in concept form in VR for initial feedback, the Osprey is designed to be packaged as either a business or domestic first-class seat for Airbus A320FAM or Boeing 737 single aisle aircraft, to offer a seamless transition from economy to premium seating areas and to further expand the Mirus family of seats. Osprey will introduce new levels of privacy through its seatback design and wrap around surfaces and offers generous and innovative storage solutions for PEDs and water bottles, phones and more. Mirus Aircraft Seating also unveiled its new Falcon long-range economy seat at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, meaning Mirus can now offer an economy seat solution in every aircraft category. Suitable for single and twin aisle long range aircraft including Airbus A321XLR, A330, A350 and Boeing 737MAX and 787, Falcon combines the now customary Mirus features of a best-in-class weight with truly exceptional levels of passenger living space and comfort, making it a compelling option for airlines looking for a fully featured long range economy seat.
Flydubai and Boeing sign agreement for Space Bins on 737 MAX fleet: Dubai-based carrier flydubai and Boeing announced an agreement to retrofit 21 of flydubai’s 737 MAX aircraft with larger Boeing Space Bins. Each Space Bin can accommodate up to six standard-sized bags per bin by turning a bag on its edge, an increase from four bags per bin compared to a standard bin. “Since commencing operations in 2009, we have remained dedicated to investing in product innovation and elevating our passengers’ inflight experience. By having Boeing’s larger Space Bins on our 737 MAX aircraft, this will provide our passengers with added convenience and increased storage space that rivals the experience offered on a wide-body aircraft,” said Daniel Kerrison, Senior Vice President of Inflight Operations at flydubai. “Passengers are making the connection between bin capacity and the extra room they need and expect for their carry-on bags,” said Doug Backhus, Vice President of Cabin, Modifications and Maintenance at Boeing. “We are proud to partner with flydubai to bring Space Bins capability to their existing 737 MAX fleet.”
Intelsat inflight connectivity launched on THAI’s new Airbus fleet: Intelsat recently launched high-speed, reliable inflight connectivity service on Thai Airways International’s Airbus A330-300s. “We are delighted to partner with Thai Airways to deliver streaming-quality inflight connectivity for their passengers throughout Southeast Asia and beyond,” said Mike DeMarco, Chief Commercial Officer at Intelsat. “2Ku is reliable and the most mature IFC product in the market, and after installing thousands of systems, we know Thai’s passengers will be delighted,” he added. Service is available on two A330s now, with more aircraft joining the fleet in the second half of 2025. At launch, unlimited text and chat services will be offered free of charge to all passengers. Unlimited internet access will be available to different tiers of Thai’s frequent flyer program. The 2Ku service is designed to operate not just on today’s high-throughput geostationary satellites but on Intelsat’s fleet of new software-defined satellites that will enter service in the coming years. “Working with Intelsat, Thai Airways is now offering the most robust and reliable inflight connectivity for our passengers,” said Captain Wirush Theparak, head of customer experience and product at Thai Airways. “Intelsat’s satellites are well equipped to handle the free surfing packages Thai will offer to our valued Royal Orchid Plus members shortly.”
RECARO Aircraft Seating, ANA unveil new seats: RECARO Aircraft Seating and All Nippon Airways (ANA) unveiled their latest passenger comfort innovations at the 2025 Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX). The new R3 Economy Class and R4 Premium Class seats, designed specifically for the next-generation cabins of ANA on international routes, highlight the commitment of RECARO to Driving Comfort in the Sky. The R4 Premium Class seats feature an increased seat pitch of approximately 40 inches and an enhanced recline of about 2 inches, providing greater relaxation and reduced fatigue on long-haul flights. Meanwhile, the R3 Economy Class seats offer increased living space and a generous seat pitch of around 33 to 34 inches, making them some of the most spacious Economy Class seats available and ensuring a more comfortable journey for passengers. In addition to premium comfort, the lightweight design of the seats help decrease the aircraft’s total weight, resulting in reduced CO₂ emissions and improved fuel efficiency. RECARO Aircraft Seating also announced its continued partnership with Azul Linhas Aéreas as the chosen supplier for the airline’s latest Airbus A330 fleet. Azul has selected the CL6710 Business Class and CL3710 Economy Class seats from RECARO to outfit their new A330 aircraft fleet, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2025. This marks the second A330 program that RECARO will provide to Azul, further solidifying a long-term collaboration between the two industry leaders.
Thales displays new 360Stream Live TV and innovative Near-Live highlights: Thales highlighted its inflight TV product 360Stream, whch Thales is calling “the industry’s first and only event-based programming and DVR (Digital Video Recording) capability that redefines watching TV at 40,000 feet”. Thales’s 360Stream delivers Live TV across mixed fleets working on any IFE system and any connectivity provider, with an industry-first service delivering Near-Live news & sports highlights fleet-wide within an hour. Live TV and Near-Live services are now flying with BBC News, CNN, and EuroNews, among much more. Launch content partners include BBC News, CNN, and EuroNews, with more being added by Thales. Airlines can include their own partners within three days. Thales’s near-live service, another industry first, delivers highlights of major events, like sports games and news, to the aircraft within an hour. The 100% automated Near-Live content workflow seamlessly connects Thales’s intelligent ground and aircraft systems, ensuring passengers stay informed with the latest news and game-changing sports moments.
Diehl Aviation presents its game-changing eDecor: Diehl Aviation is redefining aircraft cabin design with its eDecor technology—a first-of-its-kind, customisable decor solution that enhances airline branding and passenger experience like never before. Utilising advanced lightweight electronic paper (E-ink) technology, eDecor enables cabin surfaces to dynamically change colour and design without continuous power consumption, offering new levels of flexibility, efficiency, and aesthetics for modern cabin interiors. The lightweight electronic ink (E-Ink) technology ensures that once a design is set, it remains stable without generating heat, making it safe, more sustainable, and highly efficient unlike traditional static cabin decorations. Whether for individual airline branding, flight-phase adjustments, code-sharing branding, or creating specific in-flight atmospheres, eDecor provides flexibility and unmatched adaptability to transform the passenger experience. The design concept for eDecor was developed in collaboration with Design Investment, ensuring an innovative approach of modern aircraft cabin aesthetics.
Insperial expands capabilities with the acquisition of MGR Foamtex: Insperial is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of MGR Foamtex, a leading UK-based manufacturer specialising in interior soft goods and advanced passenger upholstery systems. This strategic move further strengthens Insperial’s position in the market and expands its capabilities alongside its sister companies, Perrone Leather and Adhetec. MGR Foamtex, established in 1985, is renowned for its innovative, weight-sensitive, and groundbreaking designs for aircraft interiors. Its core products include MGRSoftWall, MGRSoftWall NextGen, MGRSafeWall, MPSHybrid, and bespoke finishing options. MGR Foamtex is renowned for its highly skilled engineering team dedicated to delivering premium interior solutions. By integrating MGR’s manufacturing expertise with Insperial’s extensive global sales and marketing network, the company is set to unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation.
Thompson’s new VantageXL+ launched with China Southern: Thompson Aero Seating announced the first customer of its new VantageXL+ will be China Southern Airlines. The VantageXL+ is the newest iteration of the hugely popular VantageXL, optimised to fit the precise dimensions of the A350 and B787 fuselages. In the background Thompson had already begun development of the VantageXL+ and with China Southern looking to add A350s to its fleet, Thompson was pleased to offer China Southern the opportunity to benefit from the development work that had already begun, and the programme was confirmed. Keith Anderson, CEO of Thompson Aero Seating, says: “We are delighted to announce China Southern as the first customer of our VantageXL+. We have worked in close collaboration with the airline team to bring to life what started as a spark of an idea. Our philosophy at Thompson is always to enhance and evolve our seats and China Southern has been a great partner in enabling us to do this.” In each ship set, Thomspon will deliver 18 Business Class seats, which will accommodate 24 passengers in a 1-2-1 LOPA configuration. Each will have a minimum seat width of 24” and a bed length on 76.9” at a 44” pitch.
For Editorial Inquiries Contact:
Editor Matt Driskill at matt.driskill@asianaviation.com
For Advertising Inquiries Contact:
Head of Sales Kay Rolland at kay.rolland@asianaviation.com
