E-Leather Airline Seats

The latest product in airline seats is 'composition leather' which weighs up to 40% less than traditional leather. The seats are finished to add colour, grain and texture, and it is possible to engineer specific performance requirements such as scuff protection or fire resistance. Engineered Leather or E-Leather for use in airline seats has a prime component of leather fibre produced from tannery by-products. This is processed or 're-woven' and finished so it is practically indistinguishable from good quality natural leather. Supplied in rolls which results in only a 5% wastage compared to up to 40% wastage for natural hides, E-Leather for aviation and contract upholstery applications is fire resistant and is around half the weight of natural leather.

It is based on 75-80% of leather fibre and uses a range of highly engineered synthetic fibres to further increase product performance. The product's weight, however, is the key factor... 500grams per square metre, compared to typical leather upholstery at 850gsm. For an aircraft with 165 seats, the reduced weight could amount to a typical cost reduction of up to £14,000 (US$27,000) per year in fuel costs alone.

E-Leather airline seats are up to 50% lighter than traditional leather, save up to 25% related fuel costs each year, show consistent physical and burn performance and have long lasting quality.

Airline seats reviewed

We should be mindful of the kind of reviews that appear everywhere on the internet by airline passengers when reviewing airline seats. Seat comfort was much better than the old style seats. Service if reasonable, is secondary. IFE working, headphones good. The angle of the seats and the ability to see out of the window is important if spending 9 hours in the air. Business class seats offering privacy are sought-after, but, from a comfort point of view, are quite hard. Back massagers are gimmicky. Calling airline seats "Executive First" class can be wishful thinking on the part of the airline and can be ruined on long-haul flights if the pillow is too meagre. Lack of storage space for personal effects is also a problem. The reading lights are good but a herringbone layout can mean they sometimes shine in a neighbouring passenger's face. This is particularly annoying on the overnight flight. I know times are hard in the airline business but I do feel that those little extra touches that we pay so handsomely for in business class should be more in evidence. Pod seats are a bit narrow, and if they were designed to fill the available space (instead of the trendy curved design) they would have enough room for someone 6"2". As it is, over 6' and there is a bit of a compromise to be made.

Comfortable in the seated and semi-reclined position, some business class airline seats are dreadful when it comes to trying to sleep in the fully-reclined position. Anyone over 6-foot is likely to be challenged, as they cannot stretch out on their back due to the foot plate in front or they cannot sleep on their side, lest they slide out. Others complain of a huge bump as the seat reclines to sleeping position. The bed is uncomfortable because of a gap in the middle between the top and bottom sections.