First aircraft seat designed and built in Turkey about to take off

Thursday, 20 February 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Created and built by a partnership between Turkish Airlines, Turkish Technic Inc. and Assan Hanil, Turkish Seats Industries (TSI) debuts the first locally-produced airline seat as it enters passenger service. Turkey’s flagship carrier, Turkish Airlines, continues to innovate and find new ways to delight its passengers. As the nation’s global brand ambassador, Turkish Airlines further strengthens its position as one of the world’s largest and most recognised airlines with a globe-spanning network that benefits from Istanbul’s unique geographic location.

Having already won numerous awards for its service and attention to detail, the airline continues to pursue its goal of being acknowledged as the ‘World’s Best Airline’. Turkish Airlines has now partnered in a major initiative to pioneer another first in Turkish Civil Aviation. In line with the objective of ‘100% Turkish aircraft production’ envisioned for the airline’s centennial in 2023, Turkish Airlines, Turkish Technic and Assan Hanil, have partnered to create Turkish Seat Industries (TSI), a five million dollar project to design and build the first locally-produced airline seat. The first aircraft equipped with the new seats is a Turkish Airlines B737-800 and it was unveiled at a presentation hosted by Turkish Airlines at Atatürk Airport’s Hangar No. 2. In attendance were the Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek, Turkish Airlines Chairman Hamdi Topçu, Turkish Airlines General Manager Assoc. Dr. Temel Kotil, TSI Chairman Assoc. Dr. Ismail Demir, TSI General Manager Fahri Bayır, Hanil E-Hwa Chairman Dr. Yang Seok RYU, Kibar Holding Chairman Ali Kibar and Assan Hanil General Manager Okan Gedik. “TSI’s basic vision is to deliver the best solutions in terms of comfort, aesthetics, safety and logistics in the aircraft passenger seat industry. This partnership has now produced its first result. It is a great honour for us to present to you today the first aircraft outfitted with the new seats,” said Turkish Airlines Chairman Hamdi Topçu. With the design concept begun in September 2011 at its Izmit facility, the company carried out the entire aircraft seat design and development process in Turkey, including automation and software. As a result of approximately three years of meticulous studies, TSI began mass production of the initial aircraft seat model designed to bring new levels of passenger comfort. The seats will initially be used on the airline’s B737-800s, and then be installed on the Airbus single-aisle fleet of A319s, A320s and A321s. The initial annual production rate of 10,000 units will increase to 50,000 by 2024. TSI’s General Manager Fahri Bayır stated that the locally produced aircraft seats are attracting wide attention with their slim, lightweight design that combines high quality with the guarantee of fast delivery.

In the first stage the company will refurbish Turkish Airlines’ existing aircraft, but then aims in the near future to being factory installation of the seats on aircraft prior to delivery as a result of negotiations with both Boeing and Airbus. With this agreement, the seats will be shipped to the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers and the company will see its global market share increase to 10 percent by 2024. TSI uses an automated production system, which is the world’s fastest, and employs a zero fault principle and technology. Similarly, installation of the aircraft seat includes a complex technical infrastructure which is also monitored using advanced technologies. The computer automation enables the manufacturing of products with zero defects. Unique in the world with the implementation of this automation system, Turkish Seats Industries aims to be well ahead of its rivals in terms of production rates.