All Nippon Airlines (ANA) will feature Recaro Aircraft Seating’s R3 economy and R4 premium economy seats on its growing fleet of Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Three new 787-9s will begin to enter the fleet in 2026 and all will have the R3 and R4 seats. A further 16 Dreamliners will be refurbished with these seats, with modification work expected to begin in 2027.
Recaro chief executive Mark Hiller and ANA’s general manager for the EMEA region, Hiroyuki Miyagawa, unveiled the seats at a press event during AIX on 9 April, noting that the two companies are celebrating 35 years of collaboration this year.
“With the economy class we’re maintaining a 34 seat inch pitch, which is top class,” said Miyagawa. ”Also the recline on this is 50% more than what we have today.
”It’s relaxing too, with a feeling like being hugged. It gives me such total comfort that I’m so scared that people might downgrade from business class to economy. That’s how comfortable it is,” Miyagawa jokes.
For premium economy, the pitch is 40 inches. The R4 seat has a high wing each side of the head. “It’s not a complete business class wall, but you will be able to have some privacy,” he says. “I can’t really find enough good words to describe the qualities of these premium economy and economy class seats – this is a new normal for us.
Asked about the configuration in which the R3 and R4 will fit,
Miyagawa says details of the configuration in which the R3 and R4 will fit will be announced along with the launch of a new business class product in the next couple of months.
“We want to announce that as a total package at that time,” he says. Similarly, while the IFE and connectivity systems for the aircraft have been selected, these too will remain undisclosed until the coming announcement. He does though say the seats will have in-seat power and Bluetooth connectivity.
The 787 fleet will be getting additional use following the recent introduction of three new services into Europe from Tokyo to Milan, Stockholm and Istanbul.
