Trinity Airways Offers No-Recline Business Class Seat

The airline's SoFab seat trades recline and screens for a larger flat bed and lower fares on select routes.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Business Travel

Bold vector editorial illustration of a single cream airline seat in profile with a coral ottoman pulled out into a flat bed, on a pale grey field.
Trinity Airways is rolling out its SoFab business class seat, which drops recline and in-seat screens for a flat bed and lower fares on select routes. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Would you book a business class seat without a recline or TV to save money?

Trinity Airways has introduced a no-recline business class seat called SoFab on its Airbus A330-900neo jets. The seat has no recline and no television screen, and passengers watch films on their own devices over the aircraft's WiFi.

Why it matters

The SoFab seat offers a different trade-off for business travelers, pairing a flatter sleeping surface with lower fares than comparable premium cabins. Its design suggests airlines may keep experimenting with cheaper premium options that drop costly in-seat features.

The SoFab bed measures 198 cm long and 102 cm wide, about 25 per cent larger than other business class seats, arranged in a 1-2-1 layout. A one-way December Rome to Seoul fare is quoted at approximately £1,296.21 on Trinity versus £1,816.96 on Korean Air.

The players

Trinity Airways

Trinity Airways is the airline that introduced the SoFab seat on its Airbus A330-900neo aircraft.

Korean Air

Korean Air is a South Korean carrier whose Rome to Seoul business class fares serve as the price comparison in this story.

The details

Passengers pull a tab to slide out a cushioned ottoman that fills the gap between the seat and footwell, creating a bed. A curved shell wraps around each passenger to act as a privacy screen.

Timeline

  1. 2023: The SoFab seat first became available onboard Trinity Airways flights.

  2. December: Trinity one-way Rome to Seoul business fare quoted at approximately £1,296.21.

Travel Outlook

The SoFab seat reflects a broader pattern in premium air travel where carriers separate sleeping comfort from in-seat entertainment to lower ticket prices. Its availability on the A330-900neo ties the design to a specific long-haul aircraft family rather than to a general industry standard.

Business travelers comparing premium fares on long-haul routes can see that Trinity's business class fare on Rome to Seoul is well below Korean Air's comparable quote. The trade-off is that the SoFab seat offers no recline and no in-seat screen, so travelers should plan to bring their own entertainment.

The takeaway

Premium travelers willing to forgo recline and in-seat screens may find lower fares and a flatter sleeping surface on certain routes. Comparing fares across carriers before booking can reveal meaningful price differences in business class.

Further reading

For more on premium cabin options, see Business Travel.

Source note: This article includes information reported by The Sun.

Live Poll

Would you book a business class seat without a recline or TV to save money?