“Mirus is incredibly proud that easyJet, the UK’s largest airline and one of the world’s leading carriers, has placed its trust in us for what represents one of the largest single-model aircraft seat awards ever. This agreement between two British companies marks a defining moment sharing our commitment to delivering sustainability and significant operational cost savings through reduced fuel burn and CO₂ emissions while enhancing passenger experience and comfort”
Ben McGuire, Chief Executive Officer, Mirus:
Since its concept launch at AIX 2022, Kestrel has piqued the interest of airlines as one of the lightest seats in its class thanks to its advanced lightweight structure and ergonomic design. Weighing from 6.9kg per pax for a baseline model, the easyJet spec Kestrel seat will offer the airline a weight saving of up to 500kg per aircraft for larger models in easyJet’s fleet – estimated to deliver a combined annual fuel saving of over 12,936 tonnes, equivalent to over 40,513 tonnes of Co2.
With easyJet on track to meet its ambitious target of a 35% reduction in carbon emissions intensity by 2035, the seat upgrade to our Kestrel seat is part of a wide range of initiatives that easyJet is deploying to reduce and decarbonise its environmental impact, investing in operational efficiencies and technologies to lower its impact both in the air and on the ground such as lighter paints, taxi management optimisation and NEO fleet expansion.
With a focus on simplicity of design and it’s execution, the Kestrel seat has been engineered with sustainability and lifecycle performance in mind. Its low part count and simplified design reduce maintenance requirements, while its robust structure ensures long-term durability in service. At end of life, the Kestrel is approximately 98% recyclable, supporting circularity and reducing waste.
Designed specifically for short-to medium-haul operations, Kestrel offers industry-leading passenger space and comfort. Its ergonomic design allows passengers to enjoy improved legroom without changing seat pitch itself, It’s unique pre-reclined structure enhances comfort which ensures improved knee and shin clearance for passengers.
Looking for marginal gains, challenging the design and being able to iterate and adapt quickly through analysis and test without fear of failure has been key to our seats success.
Much consideration to end of life separation of parts, which in turn aids recyclability and collectively contributes to our sustainability goals. Although lightweight, we also focus on the comfort and durability of the seat through the extensive design, analysis and testing on-site at MTEST dynamic testing facility, one of the largest commercial dynamic testing sled facilities in the UK. This has also reduced time, cost and carbon emissions by eliminating the need to transport seats for external certification.
“We are delighted to be introducing the Mirus Kestrel seat across our future fleet. This investment supports our continued focus on making our operations as efficient as possible, capitalising on small incremental gains that result in meaningful reductions in fuel burn and Co2 emissions.
“On top of the sustainability benefits, the additional legroom and enhanced comfort these seats will provide will also deliver an improved onboard experience for our customers which we know they’ll love.”
David Morgan, Chief Operating Officer, easyJet
At Mirus we understand that the single greatest contribution we can make towards a more sustainable future is the reduction of seat weight. This has, and will always be an objective of Mirus, and after years of development, design and testing we are seeing tangible results of our work.
Mirus continues on its successful growth trajectory which we are immensely proud of, but our work never stops and striving to always improve our offering is paramount.