Starling Aerospace – an aircraft interior refurbishment specialist based in the UK – has expanded its capabilities following the acquisition of the assets of former seating manufacturer, Pitch Aircraft Seating Systems, for an undisclosed sum.
Having achieved a record year of delivering customer projects during 2024, which saw turnover increase by 25%, Starling is ramping up its factory for the immediate manufacture of the PF3000 (triple) and PF2000 (double) economy seats, which are already certified for the Airbus narrow-body family.
Starling says the seats offer 3in of additional legroom over a standard economy seat, and can accommodate passengers as tall as 2m (6ft, 5in), with the trimmed seat weighing under 10kg. Intended for high-density cabins, they are designed to deliver a lower cost of ownership, high durability and commonality of spare parts.
In addition to acquiring the intellectual property and patents for all designs from Pitch Aircraft Seating, which ceased trading during the pandemic, Starling has taken delivery of more than 200 PF3000 units from the previous owner’s inventory, which are ready for installation.
Within the next 12 months, Starling plans to launch a family of economy and premium-economy configurations for single-aisle fleets, which will include all Airbus and Boeing short-haul aircraft.
“Starling’s acquisition of Pitch Aircraft Seating represents a major milestone for our company, which will accelerate our growth ambitions and help take the business to the next level, in terms of manufacturing and engineering design capability,” said Steve Swift, co-owner and director of Starling Aerospace.
“Having the ability to develop and build our own range of seats will greatly enhance Starling’s existing service portfolio, which encompasses the whole aircraft cabin,” said Coralie Wigg, co-owner and director of Starling Aerospace. “We are already looking at options for additional factory sites in order to scale up manufacturing capacity and are having discussions with customers looking for an economy seating solution.”
In response to an uplift in demand for its aircraft interior expertise from private, corporate and commercial airline customers, Starling already expanded its in-house fabrication and manufacturing capabilities in 2025, with a secondary six-figure investment. This includes a twin-booth paint facility, additional CNC machinery and a laser-guided machine tool probing and inspection system.
