Recaro Aircraft Seating has reported a 60 per cent drop in its 2020 revenue as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company said that in order to find a way forward from the global crisis that left the commercial aviation industry in disarray, Recaro revamped its long-term approach and focused on customers and its global team members.

“We remain dedicated as we continue to expand our global footprint, working on new innovations and motivating our key capital, our employees, with our internal culture code of ‘We Are Recaro,’” said CEO and shareholder, Mark Hiller. “I am confident and optimistic that we will emerge stronger than ever from the current situation and continue driving comfort in the sky.”

Despite reporting double-digit growth rates over the past 10 years, Recaro earned 295 M€ in 2020, which was 60 per cent less than the company’s 2019 revenue. The aircraft seating company currently employs 2,100 team members across its five sites around the world. Although the sites experienced headcount reductions by up to 30 per cent, Recaro was able to reach a “significant deal” with its employees at its Schwaebisch Hall headquarters to secure their employment through mid-2023.

At the start of the crisis, Recaro said its leadership quickly jumped into action and made the necessary adjustments to support the company’s internal and external goals for long-term success. Robust measures from the company’s global efficiency program, Touch & Go, reduced costs by 18 per cent across all sites and implemented 150 projects to support efficiency. Management teams contributed extra savings through salary cuts and the implementation of “short-time work” at the Schwaebisch Hall site also helped save resources.

Although there were many challenges in 2020, the lightest Recaro economy class seat to-date, the SL3710 (pictured above), took flight for the first time on TAP Air Portugal and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Recaro also earned positive feedback from its external customer survey and internal employee survey, and earned an award from Airbus for its in-service support.