Boeing is hoping to address bottlenecks with aircraft seat supply and establish a beachhead in a growing market by forming a joint venture with automotive seat-maker Adient.
The US aircraft company and Adient will form a new company, Adient Aerospace, to develop, manufacturer and sell a range of seats to airlines and aircraft leasing companies.
The move comes as both Boeing and Airbus are ramping up aircraft production and breaking delivery records.
Airlines are also vying to see which can come up with the most innovative business and first class cabins – an area Adient sees as fertile ground.
The joint venture will produce seats for new Boeing aircraft but also for retrofit to aircraft built by the US company as well as rival manufacturers.
Adient will be the majority shareholder with 50.01 per cent of the joint venture and the owners will split earnings and cash flow proportionately. Both will have board representation.
“Seats have been a persistent challenge for our customers, the industry and Boeing, and we are taking action to help address constraints in the market,’’ Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief financial officer Kevin Schemm said in a statement.
“Adient Aerospace will leverage Boeing’s industry leadership and deep understanding of customer needs and technical requirements, to provide a superior seating product for airlines and passengers around the world.
“This joint venture supports Boeing’s vertical integration strategy to develop in-house capabilities and depth in key areas to offer better products, grow services and generate higher life cycle value.”
Boeing has long conducted research into passenger seating and has a keen understanding of developments in this area.
It plans to combine this with Adient’s seating expertise to capture part of a commercial aircraft seating market expected to grow from about $US4.5 billion in 2017 to $US6 billion by 2026.
Adient is a global leader in automotive seating, employing 86,000 people and operating 237 plants in 33 countries.
It provides seats to all major automotive manufacturers and its products are used in more than 25 million vehicles a year.
“To enhance the customer experience for passengers, airlines and commercial airplane manufacturers, we will apply our unmatched expertise for comfort and craftsmanship along with our reputation for operational excellence,” Adient chief executive Bruce McDonald said.
