A real benefit for customers of airlines using this seat, or a triumph of accountant-led cost reduction and who-gives-a-toss-about customers' comfort and well-being? You choose.......
Boeing Selects New 737 Seat Supplier
Here's a typical response in one forum....
All of the new slim line seats are substandard. There is little to no back or seat support, the maximum time a customer can be reasonably comfortable is about 1 1/2 hours. A three to six hour trip leaves the customers complaining of back and hip pains. The bottom cushions last only about 45 days when in normal service, regardless of what the different manufactures say their durability and Life Cycle tests show. The airlines demanded lighter weight seats, the stockholders demanded lower costs for profit. The airline company line was for fuel reduction costs. The real reason was the ability to add an additional two to three rows of seats in coach. The seating industry complied with the airlines demands. THE AIRLINES GOT WHAT THEY PAID FOR, a sub standard seat product, with overall more frequent seat cushion replacement, more frame repairs because the frame cannot withstand constant use and movement by overweight passengers. The real end result is more dissatisfied customers complaining.