Extra Legroom Onboard of Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and Recaro Aircraft Seating announced today that the carrier is the North America launch customer for an innovative main cabin seat that provides more legroom for air travelers. Company reports, that the award-winning seat will be installed on all of Alaska Airlines' 22 new Boeing 737-900ERs scheduled for delivery in fall 2012 through 2014.

"Recaro's clever design includes a comfortable yet slimmer seatback and bottom and a literature pocket located above the tray table. That means our main cabin customers will enjoy more than an inch of extra legroom with our existing spacing between each row of seats," said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing. "The new seats add to a very special onboard experience that all of our customers flying Alaska's new 737-900ERs will enjoy, including Boeing's Sky Interior—with its improved lighting and sculpted overhead bins that create a more spacious cabin—onboard Wi-Fi, Starbucks coffee, premium Washington wines and delicious meals for purchase, as well as our renowned personal service."

Alaska Airlines' version of Recaro's seat includes custom enhanced-comfort cushions, a six-way adjustable headrest and the carrier's standard three inches of recline. The lighter seat will save an estimated 8,000 gallons of fuel annually per aircraft. Alaska's first class cabin on its 737-900ERs will feature a different premium Recaro seat with five inches of recline, an articulating seat bottom and a six-way adjustable headrest.