Virgin sues over designs
Posted on: October 23rd, 2007 by Andrew Mayer
The aviation industry is a competitive racket, and the battle for the business and first class money is fierce. With the price of fuel rising faster than a thermometer in a Dubai sunrise, original ideas are guarded fiercely, and Virgin Atlantic is not taking kindly to the possibility that their seat designs have been appropriated by someone else.
A Welsh seat manufacturer is being sued by Mr. Branson and co. over allegations that they have breached patent laws with their similar seta designs to the Virgin model.
A seat is a seat, you say? Not so. For trans-Atlantic flights, it’s business class that rakes in the most bucks, so having a novelty is what will keep the punters coming back. For flights across the pond, the comfort of the seat is ever important, and Virgin spent millions creating its patented designs for their upper class seats.
Though Virgin was the first to ask Contour to manufacture the herringbone shaped chairs, the company has already provided similar designs to airlines like Cathay pacific, Air Canada and Delta.
www.virgin-atlantic.com