Fears of flying in a microbe-infested airplane seat for hours at a time may soon be over.
Aircraft seating manufacturer Recaro says it is creating a business class seat infused with a powerful germ-destroying disinfectant.
The self-cleaning seat featuring anti-bacterial fabric will also tell the customer just how well it has been cleaned, Recaro CEO Mark Hiller told Bloomberg.
“The best innovation doesn’t help if you cannot show it,” Hiller said.
Anti-bacterial coatings already exist for hard services, yet Recaro is attempting to translate the technology to fabric.
It comes as the company is aiming to create a “hotel room in the sky” by making living areas with each chair.
Facilities will also include a personal bar, massages and the ability to predict oncoming backache.
The move to innovate plane seats is part of a wider shift to make flying more hygienic.
A report in January found that one square inch of a plane seatbelt buckle contained more than three times the amount of viable bacterial and fungal cells found on a kitchen counter.
The $95,000 (£70,000) seat will also be able to control environmental factors in the passenger’s personal space, such as temperature, light and noise.
Hiller hopes to have the seats ready within the next two years. The company’s customers include KLM, Airfrance, American Airlines and Qantas.
“There’s still more to do and more improvement possible,” he added.
