Following the reveal of the ‘R Sphere’ economy-class seat concept at AIX 2025, a design which included several innovative applications of sustainable materials, Iberia, the Spain-based airline, is trialling certain of those features. Iberia is the first customer to collaborate with Recaro on these sustainable seating features, which will be trialled for a trial period of at least six months.
As part of a modification kit offered by Recaro, 186 seats (the R1 and R2 economy-class platforms) will be installed in a selected Airbus A320neo cabin in the Iberia fleet for real-world evaluation.
Both the R1 and R2 seats will feature literature pockets upcycled from discarded fishing nets that were previously littering the sea. According to Recaro, just one shipset of these seats for a single-aisle aircraft, such as the A320, removes approximately 2 kg of discarded fishing net material from the oceans.
The seats also incorporate a real wood-based inlay integrated into the bumper, using a natural material as part of the design and material concept.
Getting these elements into the air has not been a simple task, with Recaro having developed seating mock-ups, gained qualifications, and finally achieved certification to include these materials in an aircraft cabin. Recaro says these innovations are a relevant first step toward the future of more sustainable seating solutions in the aviation industry.
“With these seats, we were able to combine innovation with ingenious design and sustainability,” said Dr Mark Hiller, CEO of Recaro Aircraft Seating. “We are very proud of this step in bringing a more sustainable seating options to the cabin and partnering with Iberia as our trial customer.”
Visitors to Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg next week can see these materials in the R Sphere sustainable concept seat being shown at Recaro’s stand. The R Sphere seat has been nominated as a finalist for the 2026 Crystal Cabin Award, the winners of which will be announced at an awards ceremony on 14th April, 2026.
