Sky Industry News

Mesta highlighted that this approach reduces capital costs and supply chain complexities for seatmakers. He said Soisa is responsible for on-time delivery: “So the responsibility comes to us now instead of the OEM and we have to deliver on time on their assembly line. So they can just assemble the seats really fast, put the seat cover on it, and get it out."

Reducing transit times by minimizing manufacturing sites involved also contributes to sustainability by lowering carbon emissions. Mesta provided an example where a headrest structure travels between multiple locations before final assembly: “You can reduce all that in two parts, in two cities: one manufactures the metal and then in Chihuahua [at Soisa] we can do the whole thing and then send it to Gainesville."

Soisa has demonstrated its environmental credentials through its Waste to Wonder program which collaborates with local artisans who turn waste material into handicrafts. The company also donates leather and fabrics to women in prison for creating products.

At AIX 2024 in Hamburg, Soisa introduced a lightweight ‘organic armrest’ made from corn particles. Mesta explained: “We’re trying to substitute foam made out of polyethylene with corn-based material... This can be thrown into landfill and it will disintegrate,” contrasting with polyethylene which does not degrade easily.

Soisa serves several top-tier airlines including United Airlines, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, and Singapore Airlines. In 2023 alone, Soisa produced around 5,200 armrests using approximately 2,000 square feet of polyethylene foam resulting in nearly 2,600 kg of CO2 emissions annually.

The transition to biodegradable materials derived from corn waste aims at reducing this carbon footprint significantly without altering aesthetics. Mesta indicated future plans: “We have other parts where we use a lot of foam; maybe not the bottom cushion but there’s a lot of others that we can probably substitute this with.”