ANAHEIM: Lurking within the large Thales booth at the APEX Expo is a little known seat manufacturer named TSI Aviation Seats. The subsidiary of Turkish Airlines is preparing to certify and launch a new economy class seat integrated with Thales IFE.

TSI is targeting January 2016 for certification completion and initial installation on 20 Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800s. The seats will offer 6-inch recline, a footrest, and will come equipped with the latest generation Thales IFE system. Sales and marketing manager Burcu Dogrusoz was not able to comment on what pitch is planned for the seats.

Turkish Airlines is in the midst of upgrading the passenger experience on its long-haul and short-haul fleets, installing in-seat entertainment throughout, as well as Panasonic Avionics Ku-band inflight connectivity on its long-haul international fleet.