Five years after LATAM began updating its 787 business class cabins, a new generation of seating appears to be arriving soon. In a filing with the US Department of Transportation the carrier (including its Brazil and Peru subsidiaries) the carrier indicates it will begin operating its Dreamliners with Recaro‘s R7 (formerly known as the CL6720) from the end of 2024.
The filing shows an updated cabin layout for the 787-8 and 787-9 planes. It includes a rendering of the seats, as well as schematics showing the 6720 part number and Recaro as the manufacturer. The carrier notes that the seats are not yet installed on the aircraft.
The 787-8s will be the first to fly to the USA with the new seat, according to the filing. They are expected to fly to the USA from 1 December 2024. The updated cabin layout will include just 20 business class seats in a 1-2-1 arrangement, providing all passengers with direct aisle access. The 787-8s today fly with the Zodiac Aura Lite seat in a 2-2-2 layout accommodating 30 passengers in the same space.
On the 787-9s the business class cabin will remain at 30 seats. They are expected to fly to the USA from 1 November 2025. That type operates today split between the Zodiac Aura Lite 2-2-2 and Thompson VantageXL’s 1-2-1 layout.
The updated seat maps do not appear yet in spot-checks of the LATAM website.
The filing is an application to the DOT requesting that the seats be permitted for accessibility reasons. DOT rules require that armrests be movable on 50% of aisle seats to allow for passengers to transfer from a wheelchair into the seat. As the business class beds do not have traditional aisle arm rests a waiver is necessary. Similar requests have been approved for multiple carriers. This includes the application from Air New Zealand which first tipped its new business class product in 2022. LATAM cites the Air New Zealand application and approval in its filing, and suggests a similar passenger transfer method will be used for accessibility compliance.
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