Leather could benefit from spending spree on new aircraft
A need for greater sustainability and energy efficiency is driving a flood of orders for new aircraft, comments at the 2011 Paris Air Show have revealed. This should augur well for the leather industry; German national airline Lufthansa has said that leather upholstery on the airline’s seats can last more than seven times longer than upholstery made from synthetic materials.
Some months ago, a member of the Lufthansa management team told the vice-president for development and application at the Lanxess leather business unit, Dr Dietrich Tegtmeyer, that the airline was having to re-do synthetic upholstery on aircraft seats after about four years, while it had been able to keep using seats with leather upholstery for up to 30 years.
Aircraft manufacturer said at the Paris Air Show in late June that a move to revamp its A320 with new engines is proving popular with airlines and aircraft leasing companies. The A320 Neo will burn 25% less fuel than some competitor aircraft in the 100–200 passenger seat range, the most widely used in the commercial air industry.
Airbus says it has already received 488 orders for the A320 Neo, from airlines including Qatar Airways and SAS. Industry experts are predicting that new efficiency drives and the age of some existing fleets could lead to orders of new jets from Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Bombardier, Comac, Irkut and other manufacturers of close to 25,000 over the next two decades.
SOURCE: LEATHERBIZ.COM