MHI RJ Aviation and Expliseat partner on lightweight CRJ seating
From left to right: Craig Allan, Vice-President, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, MHI RJ; Amel Belkhamsa, Vice-President, Commercial services and customer support, MHI RJ; Antonio Ficca, Vice-President, Strategy, Marketing & Communications, Expliseat and Adrien Pallix, Program manager, Expliseat
MHIRJ and Expliseat have announced today a strategic collaboration that will make Expliseat's next-generation lightweight seating available to CRJ operators. Through the agreement, Expliseat becomes positioned as a seating supplier for the platform, expanding the portfolio of cabin solutions supported by MHIRJ.
The CRJ platform will benefit from Expliseat's proprietary composite seating technology, which delivers weight savings of more than 1,000 lb for a typical configuration while providing passenger comfort and operational durability. Its carbon fibre and titanium architecture lowers aircraft weight, supporting reduced fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions throughout the aircraft's operational life.
The collaboration combines MHI RJ's deep OEM knowledge of the CRJ aircraft with Expliseat's proven expertise in lightweight seating, already flying on Airbus, Embraer, ATR and Dash 8 aircraft worldwide.
"This collaboration allows Expliseat to expand its footprint across one of the world's most widely operated regional jet platforms," said Antonio Ficca, VP Strategy and Marketing, Expliseat. "The CRJ fleet is predominantly based in North America, where we already have an established presence, and this agreement supports our growth ambitions in the US regional market."
"This agreement reflects MHIRJ's commitment to enhancing the CRJ platform through solutions that protect fleet value and optimize performance for our customers, and continue to strengthen its competitiveness in the regional aviation market," said Craig Allan, Vice-President, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, MHI RJ.
It further strengthens MHIRJ's strategy of expanding the aftermarket solutions available to CRJ operators, reflecting the growing role of lightweight, premium cabins in one of the world's most successful regional aircraft families.
