Mumbai: IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, is learnt to have opted for lighter aircraft seats in a move that will allow it to fly more freight and cut annual fuel costs by ?40 crore.
The operating empty weight (OEW) of every aircraft will come down by about 700 kg as the carrier is going in for thinner and lighter seats called Sicma Dragonfly, manufactured by France’s Zodiac Aerospace.
The ‘Dragonfly’ seats are expected to offer 1-2 inches of extra legroom. However, the thinner cushioning may be uncomfortable for some passengers. Seventy aircraft from IndiGo’s fleet have already been retrofitted with the SICMA seats, it is understood.
IndiGo, which operates a fleet of 85 single-aisle Airbus 320 aircraft, previously used ‘Weber 5600 seats’. Industry watchers say that all future aircraft procured by the budget airline will be pre-fitted with SICMA seats.
Recently, IndiGo placed the single-largest order ever for narrow body aircraft, signing an agreement with Airbus for 250 A320 neo (new engine option) planes.
01/12/14 Adith Charlie/Business Line
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The operating empty weight (OEW) of every aircraft will come down by about 700 kg as the carrier is going in for thinner and lighter seats called Sicma Dragonfly, manufactured by France’s Zodiac Aerospace.
The ‘Dragonfly’ seats are expected to offer 1-2 inches of extra legroom. However, the thinner cushioning may be uncomfortable for some passengers. Seventy aircraft from IndiGo’s fleet have already been retrofitted with the SICMA seats, it is understood.
IndiGo, which operates a fleet of 85 single-aisle Airbus 320 aircraft, previously used ‘Weber 5600 seats’. Industry watchers say that all future aircraft procured by the budget airline will be pre-fitted with SICMA seats.
Recently, IndiGo placed the single-largest order ever for narrow body aircraft, signing an agreement with Airbus for 250 A320 neo (new engine option) planes.
01/12/14 Adith Charlie/Business Line
