Headrest canopies and fabric barriers between seats could start appearing in airplane cabins as the embattled industry tries to ward off the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airlines desperate for governments to lift travel restrictions and passengers to return are looking at ways to reassure the public that their health would not be compromised on a flight. New-look seats and fresh cabins could be a start.
One of the biggest companies in that business, Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH, has designed a range of modifications to keep passengers apart and protect them from infection.
Airlines are considering installing Recaro’s equipment as temporary cabin makeovers, Recaro CEO Mark Hiller said in an interview.
They need fittings that are easy to maneuver, lightweight and available at short notice, he said.
“There is definitely large interest from across the different regions,” he said.
With a COVID-10 vaccine possibly years away, airlines need to persuade the public it is safe to fly when an infected passenger might be next to them.
Sporadic flareups around the world are putting people off: Global traffic in July was down almost 80 percent from a year earlier, a steeper-than-expected slump, the International Air Transport Association said last week.
Of the planes that are flying, many are half empty. Aircraft typically must be 70 percent to 80 percent full to turn a profit, so that increases the appeal of devices that let passengers sit side by side without touching heads, brushing shoulders or nudging elbows.
Airlines are also figuring out how to apply a disinfectant coating developed by Recaro onto their seats, Hiller said. The German company said it has revamped the substance to repel viruses, including COVID-19.
While the industry has for months said there is little chance of catching the virus on a plane because there are hospital-grade air filters on board, that argument has been undermined by breakouts on some flights.
All 187 passengers and six crew on a TUI AG flight from the Greek resort of Zante to Cardiff, Wales, last month were asked to self-isolate after at least 16 confirmed cases were identified on the Aug. 25 service.
Recaro, which sold about 150,000 aircraft seats last year, is not immune to the crisis gripping the aviation industry, despite potential demand for its designs.
Hiller said revenue is expected to fall almost 60 percent this year.
“Even if airlines aren’t going to buy new planes, they might go for new cabins that are more comfortable or adapted to COVID,” he said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in