Flame-retardant aircraft seat covers are on display by German manufacturers of high-value polyester fibre specialist Trevira.
"Many of the airlines know of Trevira and of our flame retardant fibre and yarns in curtains," says Tedvan der Linden, senior consultant. "But we want to highlight to the industry that they also make the perfect seat covers for aircraft.
"Our fabrics, which meet Airbus standards, prescribe maximum levels of smoke density and the amount of specific chemical components within the smoke. This is due to the modification in the Trevira polyester molecule that provides the flame retardation. So our fabrics do not contain any potentially hazardous elements. We have also passed the 12s vertical test on seats, which involves the side of a chair that hold the covers being exposed to a flame of an oil burner at 1,900°C [3,452°F] for 2min."
Van der Linden says there are many advantages to using Trevira: "Compared with other fabrics made from natural fibres Trevira is not only flame retardant, but also has a colour brilliance, low-crease, dimensional stability and anti-abrasion qualities and breathability.
"To add to that, it is cost saving for airlines and business jet owners as the seat covers can be hand-washed as opposed to spending large sums of money on machine washing."
Source: Flight Daily News