Airbus’ swish Settee Corner concept seat is a business class couch

With an increasing number of airlines considering flat-beds in business class for single-aisle jets such as the Airbus A320 family, Airbus itself has revealed a new twist on the concept.

Introducing the business class Settee Corner, in which the passenger reclines rather than the seat.

Making its debut at this week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, the Settee Corner seat was developed with Geven as a potential seat for Airbus’ long-range A321LR jets, creating a welcoming home-like environment for business travellers on extended journeys.

A standard A321LR cabin layout would permit 12 seats (set at a 32" pitch) with two settees per row – one per passenger, situated on either side of the aisle.

The seat itself, located immediately next to the aisle, is adapted from a sturdy but lightweight economy design, and it’s fixed in place – there's not an inch of recline.

But the aisle-adjacent seat isn't intended to be used for very long.

Passengers would take their place in the seat only during taxi, take-off and landing – but for the rest of the flight, they’re free to sprawl across the bench, just as they might do on their favourite couch at home.

A padded section at the front of the settee flips up to boost the useable space for sleeping or sprawling.

The corner nook also opens to reveal a stowage bin.

There’s plenty of space to stretch out if you’re sitting by the window and perhaps taking in a movie…

… but the most comfortable position is nestling into the settee and along the contour of the seat itself.

The single-aisle settee is one of several developments which Airbus is showcasing at Hamburg’s annual airline industry seatfest, along with XL-sized overhead luggage bins which offer 40% more space for carry-on bags, and will first be flown by American Airlines on its latest A321neo jets.

The Airspace XL bins not only accommodate larger bags – up top 24” x 16” x 10” – but allow bags to be loaded on their sides rather than placed face down, with room for four bags instead of three per overhead bin.

David Flynn travelled to Hamburg at his own expense.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.