Yesterday, Air France unveiled its new short-haul seat. Basically, the airline is taking the same route as other airlines and going with a slim seat. Check it out:
One downside of slim seats is that they can be a bit on the hard side, and manufacturer Recaro recommends that they not be used on flights more than four hours long. As a result, these seats will only be installed on a total of 37 A319s, A320s, and A321 that are currently in the all-economy “Metropolitan” configuration. These aircraft are used on short domestic hops.
Slim seats create more space, and often airlines take advantage of that to increase seating capacity. Air France is doing the same, though not by much. The number of seats won’t change on the A319, while both the A320 and A321 will be getting an extra row. According to Air France, the extra space will provide around 2-3 extra inches of legroom, which is certainly nice from a comfort perspective.
The new seat also doesn’t recline, with Air France instead opting for a “natural 15° recline which provides passengers with optimum comfort and preserves the space and tranquillity of the passenger behind.” So that’s a negative if you like reclining, but a positive if you hate being behind someone who likes reclining. 
One thing I really like about this seat is the separate cup holder on the back of the seat, which is a feature that can be found on some of Air France’s long-haul fleet.
This simple addition is something I wish more airlines would implement, as it allows for better use of the tray table. For example, let’s say I want to use my laptop during the flight, but I’ve already received my drink. There’s really no room for my laptop anywhere else, so the best I could do is awkwardly put my drink cup between my legs, which creates a situation that can only end badly. So, I have to wait for the flight attendants to come through and collect trash. If I’m on an airline that offers Wi-Fi, that could potentially result in a lost sale. Yes, my example is specific, but simply put, the cup holder is a simple addition that makes life easier.
Another perk of slim seats is their lighter weight, and Air France reports that the new seats are about 40% lighter than the ones they are replacing, which saves about 750 kg in weight per aircraft. That certainly helps the fuel bill, as Air France is estimating to save a total of 1,700 tons of fuel each year once the seats are introduced – so the costs of installing the new seats can be recouped with the fuel savings over time.
The seats will start showing up on January 30, according to the Air France news release, and will then be “gradually introduced” into the fleet.
I actually sat in a couple of these seats yesterday. Not comfortable, at all. It felt like it was as hard as a bench, and the seat backs weren’t much better. The leg room was ample, though, in the configuration they were in. Almost all of the slimline seats are incorporating a slant in the back corner to give the impression of more leg room which I certainly appreciate.
The cup holder was a nice addition that I liked at first, until somebody mentioned the obvious: What happens the first time that gets left out during boarding or deplaning. One ample-sized rear end and….SNAP! Mechanic’s nightmare.
All in all, I rate it a C-. Uncomfortable, but it looked extremely light and would certainly reduce weight in the cabin.
Court, thanks for the feedback! So I’m guessing Recaro was pushing it a bit with the four-hour limit a bit. And the potential of breakage is certainly an issue with the cup holder – I wonder if they could spring-load it (or something) so it would automatically come against the seatback.
Spring loaded? Now that’s an idea. So, instead of a cup holder, would it be called a coffee launcher? You’d have to keep your coffee cup over half full or everyone within three rows gets a free coffee shower (well, free that is, until the airlines start charging for it.)
Does that count as an in flight entertainment system?
Well, because the cup goes through the cup holder, instead of just resting on it, I think it’d work.
Though, I’m probably taking your joke too seriously here.
So, if you have thin sheets of Sorbothane sewn into the backs of your flight clothing to soften the shock, will those piss off the backscatter X ray people?
While it won’t happen with these non-reclining seats, what happens if you put your full cup of sticky OJ in the cup holder and the person in the seat in front of you reclines rapidly? OJ sloshed all over your legs/laptop/…?
but yeah, I like those cupholders, too. Have seen them on LH planes, I think.
Hard seat? Here comes another prostatitis attack! And don’t they have any 6’2″ models sit in the seats so they can see the holes in their pants from their knees scraping the seats in front of them?
are the supports aluminum? has anybody asked why they aren’t trying composites (glass or carbon fiber reinforced glass) to further reduce weight and maybe add a little shock absorption. thanks