Airlines have another flat-bed option to choose from, as Stelia Aerospace launches the RENDEZ-VOUS® business class seat to the market. The company calls it one of the widest beds on offer, and it includes an option for the center pair of seats to function as a double bed on board.
When you’re travelling far, thousands of miles from home, all you desire is to feel like you would at home. With RENDEZ-VOUS®, our brand new Business Class staggered seat presenting a unique sofa seating comfort, airlines can offer their passengers an outstanding travel experience with a perfect ‘at home’ feeling while flying.
– Thierry Kanengieser, VP Cabin Interior STELIA Aerospace
The Rendez-Vous seat targets twin-aisle aircraft, with direct aisle access for all passengers and fully flat beds. The seat also offers the option of a privacy door, allowing for additional privacy on board.
It is a staggered design, with what the company calls “solo” and “honeymoon” pairs in the center section. In the honeymoon pair a privacy divider can be raised or lowered, depending on traveler preferences. When lowered, it passes below the bed/mattress level, furthering that honeymoon design.
Stelia also highlights the multiple positions the seat can recline through, and notes that no arm rests interfere with passenger space. The tray table is a swing-out design, with a single slab for stability.
The renderings show ample power and entertainment options. A smaller screen shows a moving map while the layout implies a larger screen for typical passenger viewing.
The limited information from the renderings leaves open many questions about the passenger experience when it is selected and deployed by an airline.
The staggered design makes it obvious that a foot well is involved. None of the images show that space or the associated angles. With the company focused on the width of the seat, there is some risk that the footwell width is sacrificed.
Similarly, the honeymoon mode leaves a gap between the mattresses, potentially a couple inches of hard plastic. How airlines choose to address that (or not) will likely affect passenger comfort in that configuration.
The renderings only show the honeymoon pairing. The solo row and the outboard singles are not represented. We can make some assumptions about comfort and space based on similar designs from other suppliers. But the lack of additional details there is surprising for a new product launch.
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I can tell the seat isn’t wide enough just looking at the guys shoulders laying flat and how he is on the divider. If the divider were up he’d be jammed up against it with one shoulder against the side of the table and the other against the divider. I am not sure how this is so much wider than anything else and looks basically like a bad version of what Qatar uses with less ability to get up with the tray table is out than Q-suites have. Ah well.