AliceBluAero hits Quantum SALF milestone; readies for EASA validation

After hitting a dynamic certification testing milestone in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland seatmaker AliceBluAero expects to receive UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval for its Quantum SALF lie-flat seat in December and will start the validation process with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in January 2025.

Quantum SALF is an outward-facing herringbone designed specifically for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families, though AliceBluAero is initially focused on the former family.

“The initial iteration of Quantum SALF we are certifying/testing for the Airbus A320 Family is at an angle of 45 degrees away from the aircraft centreline with a minimum pitch of 35 inches,” AliceBluAero managing director Ryan McNeice told Runway Girl Network after the CAA confirmed that AliceBluAero is the first UK premium aircraft seat manufacturer to complete dynamic testing for the certification of an oblique lie-flat seat under its UKTSOA C127c.

He confided that 35 inches is “the magic number for the A321 as we can get 13 seats a side between door one and two”.

“This milestone not only represents our first TSOA [Technical Standard Order Authorisation] but also marks the UK’s inaugural certification of this seat type,” McNeice continued.

“This program has been beneficial to the CAA as it provided them with a live program to demonstrate their competence in approving seats under [EASA] ETSO-C127c. This in turn will provide the seating industry in the UK with the confidence needed to purse UKTSO approval for their own oblique lie-flat seats.”

Dynamic testing took place over a two-week period at TASS International in The Netherlands and included Dynamic 16g pitch and roll at ±10 degrees, Dynamic 14g Down, and Dynamic 16g for Head Impact Criteria (HIC).

“After a positive first week of testing witnessed by the UK CAA, AliceBluAero has been granted the authority to conduct dynamic testing independently moving forward on this program, thanks to the exceptional competence and professionalism of our engineering team, who demonstrated a thorough understanding of aircraft seating regulations,” McNeice said.

Asked by RGN if Quantum SALF will launch with a British operator, McNeice replied: “We are not sure it will be a British operator as we are in in-depth talks with potential customers in many countries.

“Naturally as the A320 family is the first to be certified we believe that this will be the first variant flying. That said because our core mechanism is both lightweight and versatile we are also able to adapt the seat for additional platforms for which some operators may commit even prior to certification , such is the confidence with both our seat and our organisation.”

Quantum SALF’s imminent market entry is timely given some of the delays being experienced on major seating programs due to supply chain constraints and other challenges.