A spokesperson for the Chinese-owned company declined to comment on the plans for the new entity, “given the infancy” of the unit. They also declined to say if the company is planning to set up a new manufacturing operation.
Thompson Aero Seating makes business-class and first-class seating under its Vantage range for airline customers including Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Delta and China Southern Airlines.
It is owned by Avic Cabin Systems, a subsidiary of China’s AVIC, a state-owned aerospace and defence industry company. It acquired Thompson Aero Seating in 2016.
At the end of last year, Thompson Aero Seating’s order book was worth £835m (€960m), up from £509m a year earlier. That order book extends over the next five years.
Headed by chief executive Keith Anderson, the company generated revenue of £169.5m last year, compared to £115.1m in 2023.
Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped to £28.5m from £5m. The company posted a pre-tax profit of £12.1m compared to a £9.5m loss in 2023.
Thomson Aero Seating has expanded significantly in the past couple of years and in 2023 launched a dynamic test facility in Banbridge. It planned to grow its capacity 30pc this year and has been hunting for more engineers to help with its expansion.
“In common with many manufacturing organisations, one of the principal risks facing the company is the matching of available manufacturing capacity to forecasts and projections of order intake (load and capacity),” note the 2024 accounts for the business, which were filed during the summer.
“The company has worked across all areas of the business to provide a stable platform for future growth, and has made significant progress in this respect,” they add.
The company employs more than 700 people.
Global air passenger traffic continues to perform strongly despite an uncertain geopolitical backdrop.
A continuing shortage of aircraft that will persist into the next decade is making it difficult for some airlines to keep pace with demand.
The industry reported record load factors in August, at 86pc, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). That’s the percentage of available seats that were filled.
It noted that global passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose 4.6pc year-on-year in August, compared to a 4.1pc year-on-year increase in July.
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