Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, and Air Canada announced that the carrier’s new fleet of Airbus A321XLR aircraft will be furnished entirely with Collins’ seating solutions. Fourteen premium Aurora business class suites will be installed at the front of the aircraft while 168 Meridian+ main cabin seats will fill out the economy cabin. The custom lie-flat Aurora suites, revealed at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, showcase an industrial design, trim, and finish customized by Air Canada alongside Collins and Air Canada’s design partner, Acumen.
The suite offers a balance of privacy and sociability with a noticeably warmer palette, where elegant lighting gently accentuates custom materials, rich wood, stone, and bronze accents. The proprietary shape and installation angle of the Aurora suite conforms to the exact dimensions of the XLR, maximizing passenger living space, providing an extra row of premium seating and expanding galley capacity to accommodate the catering volume necessary for long-haul service. Built on Collins’ legacy in single-aisle aircraft seating, Meridian+ incorporates design principles from widebody solutions, utilizing a distinctly contoured architecture to reclaim additional area for passenger hips, knees and elbows.
The articulating seat diaphragm subtly flexes and adapts to augment comfort, while Air Canada has selected enhanced seatback options to optimize stowage, inflight entertainment and personal power supply. The first of 30 Air Canada A321XLRs will enter service this spring. Customer demonstrations of Aurora and Meridian+ are being held this week at Aircraft Interiors Expo.