Stelia launches Opera, new business class seat for single-aisle market

With single-aisle aircraft flying further than ever before, airlines continue to invest in delivering a more compelling premium cabin experience on board. And now they have another choice of seating supplier to help make that happen. Stelia Aerospace launched the Opera business class seat today, bringing a new luxury option to the single-aisle fleets of tomorrow.

With OPERA, airlines operating single-aisles on transcontinental routes can offer their customers the outstanding level of comfort they can find on wide-bodies. Combining design and efficiency, this brand new seat is a major step forward for our industry, creating an enhanced passenger experience and high added value for airlines.

– Thierry Kanengieser, VP Cabin Interior, STELIA Aerospace

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This is not the first single-aisle business class seat to feature doors; JetBlue got there with the Thompson Vantage in its Mint cabins. But Opera offers doors for every seat, not just a subset of the cabin.

That also means direct aisle access for all business class passengers, an option Vantage Solo now offers.

Opera promises the widest bed on a single-aisle fully-flat cabin configuration. And a larger footwell is also part of the design. Both of those metrics drive complaints from some passengers regarding the existing products flying.

The company also says that the Opera seat can accommodate up to a 20″ embedded IFE screen. That’s huge for a single-aisle plane.

A large dining table, significant storage and other features round out Stelia’s Opera offering.

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The overall design of Opera is compelling for airlines and passengers alike, if not completely revolutionary. But that’s almost certainly a good thing. the industry has seen more than a few interesting new seat designs mooted in recent months but overall incremental changes seem more compelling right now.

And the little touches Stelia included in the design and build out of the seats could prove sufficient to tip buyers and flyers in its direction. The storage and IFE offerings in particular are closer to a twin-aisle design than the competition, for example. And solving the foot well issue is a big deal. Easily accessible power outlets and seating controls further the value proposition.

More on single-aisle business class developments:

• SilkAir selects Thompson Vantage for flat-bed upgrades
• SAS selects Thompson for A321LR business class
• Musing on Mint v2
• A swanky new product for Starlux that doesn’t match the market
• China Eastern takes an interesting angle for new premium seating