All Nippon Airways’ award-winning business class product, THE Room, has been delighting passengers aboard select Boeing 777-300ERs since 2019. But when ANA sought to bring THE Room to the Boeing 787-9, it wondered whether a step-change in comfort and versatility could be achieved despite the smaller width of the -9’s fuselage.
With the objective of maximizing comfort and space whilst aligning with the original product, ANA’s celebrated design partner Acumen says it rethought the suite from the ground up, working alongside the airline’s long-standing partner, French seatmaker Safran Seats.
The fruit of their labor was unveiled today at the Paris Air Show in the form of THE Room FX — the FX stands for “future experience” — which will debut starting in 2026 on international 787-9s.
Configured 1-2-1 with a total 48 seats in business class, THE Room FX is a doored forward- and aft-facing product featuring what ANA calls a “pre-reclined” design. Each suite boasts a 41.5″ wide seat and a 24″ high-def IFE screen.
Whilst THE Room FX remains visually consistent with the platform found on the 777s, the designers notably added a simplified seat mechanism, where just the leg rest deploys to create the bed surface with a deep footwell, and a maximum bed length of 76.5 inches.
This seat mechanism, explains Acumen, “was created to optimize space in the cabin, allowing the curved backrest shapes of forward and aft facing seats to interlock with each other. Through this development, more comfort positions are available to the ANA passenger as the ergonomically shaped backrest is always available to rest against.”
Effectively, the pre-reclined backrest will enable passengers to relax in a variety of positions similar to lounging on a living room sofa.
(Of note: Finnair passengers will be familiar with a sofa concept via the Collins Aerospace AirLounge seat, and even American Airlines is touting a ‘chaise lounge’ position for its new Flagship Suite that enables passengers to lean against the seat’s shell.)
Though it offers a sofa-style experience, the THE Room FX is unique. “ANA, Acumen and Safran Seats collaborated to create this original seat exclusively for ANA,” notes the airline. Remarkably, the seat width and bed area are in line with the proportions found on THE Room suites aboard the 777s.
How was this space achieved? “The in-line exposed double doors increased space saving further, moving away from the pocket doors that are stowed back to back on the 777 version of ‘THE Room’,” Acumen explains in a statement on its web site.
“The addition of a manually operated forward & aft sliding centre screen saved further space, allowing the ottoman areas to be maximized for the passenger.”
ANA reckons THE Room FX will offer an “unmatched” customer experience, whilst improving ANA’s eco-credentials, as thinner privacy doors, backrests and seat-to-seat dividers “contribute to a significant reduction in seat weight”.
“This seat represents our commitment to exceeding expectations and shaping the future of luxury flight,” says ANA executive vice president, customer experience Tomoji Ishii in a statement.
Early reports from the Paris Air Show suggest that ANA is well within its rights to make these PaxEx claims.
Victoria Foy, president & CEO of Safran Seats, adds: “By combining our engineering expertise with ANA’s commitment to passenger excellence and Acumen’s creative vision, we are setting new benchmarks in the world of premium air travel. This new business class seat represents a step-change in comfort, versatility, and innovative design for the Boeing 787-9.”
For Acumen founder and CEO Ian Dryburgh, THE Room FX has been shaped “by years of trust, creativity and innovation” between all three parties.
“Building on the success and DNA of the ‘THE Room’ B777, this next-generation suite elevates the flying experience with a rare balance of comfort, flexibility and elegant engineering. This is a refreshingly original and market leading business class product that we believe will exceed passengers’ expectations for many years to come,” he says.
Watch the seat in action in a video now running on Acumen’s web site.
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All images are credited to ANA/Acumen
