Boeing-Adient JV Open for Business

The joint venture between Boeing and automotive seat maker Adient has begun operations under the leadership of CEO Alan Wittman following final regulatory approval granted this month by the European Commission. The new company, called Adient Aerospace, has begun developing a line of seats for new airplane and retrofit configurations in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and a new customer service center has opened in the Seattle area. Adient Aerospace plans to first develop lie-flat business class seating for widebody airplanes.

“Adient Aerospace is now open for business, providing better customer and passenger experience with quality seats,” said Wittman in a statement released Tuesday. “Our focus is comfort, craftsmanship, and operational excellence that will differentiate our products and services, all while offering more choice and better meeting the commercial airplane industry's needs.”

The joint venture, in which Boeing controls a 49.99 percent stake, addresses persistent quality control problems and delivery delays involving airliner seats and supports what the company calls its vertical integration strategy aimed at developing more in-house technical and manufacturing capability.

Boeing’s vertical integration strategy marks a reversal in efforts begun with the inception of the 787 Dreamliner to allocate more design and manufacturing responsibility to outside vendors. For example, Boeing returned wing production for the 777X to Everett, Washington, a move reflecting an effort to ensure the company doesn’t experience a repeat of the 787’s delays and cost overruns.

Seat supply problems, however, have struck both Boeing and Airbus. The European manufacturer has experienced quality problems with seats made by French supplier Zodiac for the A350, forcing aircraft delivery delays and instigating deferrals. Zodiac, meanwhile, also has struggled to supply first- and business-class seats for United Airlines’s Polaris interiors in Boeing 777-300ERs.

Industry analysts forecast the commercial aircraft seating market to grow from approximately $4.5 billion in 2017 to $6 billion by 2026.