Adient, Boeing exploring automotive trends, technologies to develop comfortable, premium-quality aircraft seats
Currently focusing on lie-flat business class seats for wide-body aircraft, the future ambition is to satisfy airline seating needs from tip to tail.
HAMBURG April 11, 2018 – Adient [NYSE: ADNT] and Boeing [NYSE: BA] are presenting innovative lie-flat business class seating solutions and cabin layout strategies to gather valuable feedback from potential customers at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. The companies intend to contribute those prototypes to Adient Aerospace, the joint venture that Adient and Boeing are planning to establish to develop, manufacture and sell a portfolio of seating products.
Adient and Boeing see an opportunity to leverage emerging technologies and trends found in the automotive industry to develop future airplane seating products.
“Looking at this convergence across mobility sectors, we believe our solutions will bring disruptive technologies and thinking through intelligent, modern and function-integrated design, benefitting the aviation industry and passengers worldwide,” said Richard Chung, vice president of Innovation and Design at Adient. “We are particularly interested in how smart seats interact with passengers to give a greater degree of comfort, innovation, features and functions.”
Through their collaboration, Boeing and Adient are exploring seating solutions that integrate advanced design, comfort, safety and security components, as well as superior craftsmanship and high tactile, sound and material quality for interior airline cabin harmony.
“Future trends in automotive mobility, including autonomous cars providing new seating configuration opportunities, present an interesting parallel with airline seating,” said Chung. “Comfortable and flexible seating configurations will help create optimum passenger experience through the flight, whether reclining, working, eating, being entertained or sleeping.”
Most of the current product development efforts are focused on lie-flat business class for wide-body aircraft. “However, our ambition is to satisfy airline seating needs from tip to tail. So we are already working on multiple classes of seats and cabin layout strategies,” said Jason Fahlbush, nominated COO of Adient Aerospace. “We are excited to meet with potential customers at Hamburg to showcase our demonstrator seats and gather valuable feedback to inform our product design and development plan.”
In January 2018, Adient and Boeing announced their intent to form Adient Aerospace. The establishment of the joint venture is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
About Adient:
Adient is the global leader in automotive seating. With 85,000 employees operating 238 manufacturing/assembly plants in 34 countries worldwide, we produce and deliver automotive seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every step of the automotive seat making process. Our integrated, in-house skills allow us to take our products from research and design all the way to engineering and manufacturing – and into more than 25 million vehicles every year. For more information on Adient, please visit adient.com.
About Boeing:
Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes and defense, space and security systems. Boeing is also the world leader in combined commercial airlines and government services with customers in more than 150 countries. The company’s products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defense systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training. Boeing employs approximately 140,000 people across the United States and in more than 65 countries. Company revenues for 2016 were $94.6 billion.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Adient and Boeing have each made statements in this document that are forward-looking and, therefore, are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are statements that are, or could be, deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this document, statements regarding Adient’s and Boeing’s future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, capital expenditures or debt levels and plans, objectives, outlook, targets, guidance or goals are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “forecast,” “project” or “plan” or terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Adient and Boeing each caution that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond their control, that could cause their actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: the ability of Adient Aerospace to successfully implement its strategic initiatives or realize the expected benefits of the joint venture, the ability of Adient or Boeing to meet debt service requirements, the ability and terms of financing, general economic and business conditions, the strength of the U.S. or other economies, automotive vehicle or aircraft production levels, mix and schedules, energy and commodity prices, the availability of raw materials and component products, currency exchange rates, the ability of Adient to effectively integrate the Futuris business, and cancellation of or changes to commercial arrangements. A detailed discussion of risks related to Adient’s business is included in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Adient’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 filed with the SEC on November 22, 2017 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov. Potential investors and others should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document, unless otherwise specified, and, except as required by law, Adient and Boeing assume no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this document.
In addition, this document includes certain projections provided by Adient and Boeing with respect to the anticipated future performance of their respective businesses. Such projections reflect various assumptions of each company’s management concerning the future performance of its businesses, which may or may not prove to be correct. The actual results may vary from the anticipated results and such variations may be material. Neither Adient nor Boeing undertake any obligation to update the projections to reflect events or circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent events. No representations or warranties are made as to the accuracy or reasonableness of such assumptions or the projections based thereon.
2018 Aircraft Interiors Expo(10)
Adient and Boeing are showcasing a portfolio of jointly developed lie-flat business class seat prototypes to potential customers at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany.
