Aviation

airBaltic Launches New Direct Flights Between Finland, Italy

The Latvian airline airBaltic announces addition to the list of direct flights from its base in Tampere (Finland) – to Nice (France) and Milan (Italy). Starting from May, the new destinations will be connected with two weekly flights.

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airBaltic already performs direct flights from Tampere to Copenhagen (Denmark), Munich (Germany) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) as well as sunny leisure destinations Malaga (Spain) and Rhodes (Greece), in addition to continuing flights to Riga (Latvia).

Flights between Tampere and Nice are scheduled to take 3 hours and 35 minutes, and between Tampere and Milan – 3 hours, 45 minutes. Both of them will be operated by the Airbus A220-300 aircraft.

airBaltic provides flights to more than 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, and Tampere, offering connections to a wide range of destinations in the airline’s route network in Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. A complete schedule of airBaltic flights and tickets are available on the company’s homepage at www.airbaltic.com.

Aviation

Airbus Enhances A350 Cabin with 10-Abreast Seating

Airbus has announced a new partnership with Jiatai Aircraft Equipment, a Chinese aircraft seating manufacturer, to supply upgraded economy-class seats for the A350 widebody series.

This collaboration, unveiled at the 2024 Airshow China, focuses on developing a newly designed economy seat tailored for the A350‘s New Production Standard (NPS) cabin.

One of the key features of the NPS cabin is the ability to accommodate 17-inch wide economy seats, compared to the previous 16.5-inch wide seats that airlines were limited to in the A350’s earlier configurations.

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This change is made possible by the expanded space in the NPS cabin, which is 35 inches longer and 4 inches wider than the previous version. This extra space is achieved by slightly moving the cockpit wall forward and shifting the rear pressure bulkhead back by one frame.

The wider cabin allows airlines to add up to 30 extra economy seats without compromising comfort. For airlines opting for a 3-4-3 seating layout, the 17-inch wide seats are an excellent choice for a more comfortable passenger experience. However, some airlines, such as Iberia, may choose to retain a 9-abreast layout with wider seats for added comfort.

The NPS cabin also offers enhanced flexibility for airline operators. One major advantage is the ability to easily switch between a 9-abreast and 10-abreast seating configuration without requiring significant downtime for aircraft reconfiguration. Airlines can use the same seat rails, tracks, and IFE interfaces, making the transition smoother and quicker.

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In addition, the design of the floor attachments and air-conditioning systems has been optimized for 10-abreast seating, meaning airlines can upgrade their cabins without needing to make substantial modifications to the aircraft’s structure.

Though it’s still unclear when Jiatai’s economy-class seats will be officially added to the A350’s Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE) catalogue, the collaboration marks a significant step toward enhancing the A350’s cabin offerings.

With this partnership, Airbus is providing more seating options for airlines, ensuring that they can meet diverse customer needs while improving overall operational efficiency.