A new type of economy class with middle seat - We test Thompson Aero's new CozySuite

With a staggered seating configuration, retractable seat cushions and a headrest optimised for sleep, Thompson Aero has developed a fairly revolutionary economy class product. CozySuite not only provides a number of benefits for passengers, there are also benefits for airlines in that more seats are able to fit in the cabin without any major impact on comfort.

Thompson Aero CozySuite Thompson Aero is an Irish seat manufacturer who is behind such designs as SAS and Qantas’ new business class seats, a model called ‘Vantage XL’. This is also the company that developed Aer Lingus’ new business class seat, coming in late spring. The new economy class seat in CozySuite is a brand new seat model from Thompson Aero, they also have a patent. The unique feature of the model is that the seats are not placed in a row, which is almost always the case in economy class. Instead, each seat is placed diagonally in front of its neighbouring seat in a sort of zigzag configuration.

Thompson Aero CozySuite This concept has several advantages, for example, each seat a much larger headrest which curves round to one side, allowing passengers to lean their head in more positions when trying to get to sleep. Thompson Aero themselves call it, "a dedicated sleeping area". Seat cushions also have a spring that allows the cushion to retract automatically when no one is sitting on it. This looks a bit funny when you see the seat for the first time, but it creates more space when coming from the aisle to the middle or window seat. The space is further adapted so that a person who is sitting down should not have to stand up while another person passes in front. This saves a lot of time during the boarding process and makes it even easier during the flight for the person sitting at the window to get out into the aisle without troubling the people beside them. The concept also means that everyone gets their own armrests. The seat is also equipped with individual screens and electrical sockets.

Thompson Aero CozySuite This seat model is very new and is not yet installed on any aircraft, but it will be interesting to see if any airline jumps at the new concept. Some examples of seat width in different configurations on different aircraft: Airbus A330: 20 inches with 8 seats in width, or 18 inches with 9 seats across. Boeing 777-300: 19.8 inches with 9 seats in width, or 18 inches with 10 seats across Boeing 787 Dreamliner: 20 inches with 9 seats in width, or 17 inches with 10 seats in width.

Thompson Aero CozySuite