Business class passengers may soon get to enjoy an exclusive, all-new inflight experience with the overnight launch of the DoveTail seat.

Aiming at the highest tiers of the business class market, the DoveTail is taking on other new seat products, including the Fusio by Zodiac Aerospace and the Vantage XL by Thompson Aero, which forms the basis of Qantas’ recently launched Business Suite product.

Developed by Jamco and JPA Design, the DoveTail has been showcased to airlines over the last three years iat the annual Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. These invitation-only closed-door sessions showed the DoveTail in various iterations as its makers worked to fine-tune the product.

This week, the DoveTail makes its formal debut with its own take on the herringbone configuration that passengers will recognise from Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways’ most recent business class products.

The new concept have added staggering to the rows, to help balance privacy with the so-called ‘dense’ design. The result means that airlines will be able to fit more DoveTail seats in their business class cabins, maximising profits from higher-paying passengers.

“DoveTail has been an exciting and at the same time a challenging product to design and develop,” said JPA Design management director Ben Orson. “Throughout this process and to get the design absolutely right, we have built a series of mock-ups, honed the ergonomics with subjects from around the world, refining elements on feedback to ensure that the final product is right.”

The makers says the seat pitch will range between 43 inches and 46 inches depending on the aircraft type, but that the seat will retain a 21.5-inch width and will also convert into a fully-flat 78-inch bed. Seats also allow for a video screens up to 18.5 inches to be fitted, while a touchscreen controller will be hidden in a centre console which will also have a useful mirror inside the door.

Along with the expected AC and UBS outlets, airlines choosing to add the DoveTail product will also be able to put in inductive charging pads so that personal devices can be charged just by placing them on the surface, without the need for any wires or cables. Coloured privacy dividers can be engaged between the centre seats, giving guests a little more privacy.

As yet, no airlines have announced that they will be introducing the DoveTail on their aircraft, and passengers could be waiting until 2017 before they will actually be able to experience the new product for themselves. www.jpadesign.com