As it happens our return flight was on 9V-SVE, the last 777-200ER aircraft that flew with this seat. The Koito seat scandal
As we mentioned earlier in the article, the Singapore Airlines 2006 Business Class seat was manufactured by Japanese company Koito Industries.
In 2009, Japan’s civil aviation regulator JCAB noticed that Koito had delivered aircraft seats to JAL covered with a material not certified for use on aircraft. While that doesn’t sound too serious, use of only approved fabrics in cabin furnishings is vital for slowing the spread of fires.
The authority issued Koito with a warning, but what seemed like a simple lapse was only the beginning. A house of cards was about to fall, and Singapore Airlines was set to get caught up in the ensuing mess.
Over in Toulouse, France, in late 2009, SIA’s 11th Airbus A380 (9V-SKK) was being readied for delivery. Rather than being flown to Changi in January 2010 as scheduled, however, the aircraft was sealed up and parked on the ramp.
The delay came about not from Airbus, but from the European safety regulator EASA, who had withdrawn its ‘Production Authorisation Approval’ (POA) from Koito , meaning it was unable to produce seat or seat parts for airborne use. EASA no longer considered Koito a trustworthy manufacturer, claiming it wasn’t sharing enough information with European clients.
“Our withdrawal of the POA is what I would describe as an emergency measure.
“EASA’s directive applies to all Airbus planes, even if they are flown outside Europe.” Dr. Daniel Höltgen, EASA spokesman, September 2009
By February 2010, with 9V-SKK still parked up in Toulouse, EASA released a public statement of concern saying it was “evaluating evidence… regarding irregularities in the design and production of Koito seats manufactured in Japan” .
This was no longer just about fitting new seats to aircraft, it was also about those already installed , including over 600 of SIA’s pioneering 2006 Business Class flat beds.
The European regulator had called Koito’s bluff. The following day the Japanese firm’s CEO publicly admitted that it had deliberately faked test results on its seats, relating to crash survivability and flammability.
“Fraudulent acts were conducted across the organization.
“Our wrongful acts concerning seats for aircraft severely impair our credibility as an enterprise that engages in aviation-related business, and we feel remrose for, and sincerely apologize for, having caused considerable inconvenience and concern to customers and other parties.” Takashi Kakegawa, Koito CEO, 8th February 2010
Koito had used results from previous tests on different seats to fast-track approvals, and fabricated other test data, because the company “feared it might otherwise fail to keep to its delivery schedules” .
Not only had Koito used test data from previous seats and falsified other results (as if that wasn’t bad enough), it also manipulated computers to produce ‘favourable’ test readings when inspectors were present.
In other words – a deliberate deception. Did it matter?
Yes it did, as it turns out. Proper tests overseen by regulators subsequently conducted on actual seats Koito had supplied to airlines began to reveal something alarming.
“Results from tests performed by Koito with the supervision of (the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau) confirmed a high proportion of seat models failed the requirements for structural, flammability and occupant injury criteria.” EASA Aircraft seats are tested for survivability and flammability as part of their approval. Koito was falsifying this data , or using test results from different seats, to achieve certification. Source: The New York Times, December 2010
In December 2010, JCAB said Koito’s test results may have been falsified over a 15-year period , and as many as 150,000 seats used by 30 airlines worldwide could be affected.
“The scope and the extent of these activities are not like anything we have observed before.” Les Dorr, Jr., FAA Spokesman
JCAB and EASA have concluded that all data (both design and manufacturing) generated by Koito must be treated as suspect.
The level of falsification and the length of time over which the falsification occurred, in combination with the lack of retained records, prompted EASA to deem that all Koito Seats exhibit unsafe conditions of varying degrees. EASA How was SIA affected?
SIA’s 11th A380 was granted an exemption and eventually delivered in July 2010, six months after it was first due to join the fleet. One of SIA’s brand new Airbus A380s was parked in Toulouse for six months due to the Koito seats debacle. (Photo: Rob Finlayson)
In the end three more of SIA’s A380s were delayed (9V-SKL, -SKM and -SKN), while the regulators and manufacturers wrangled over what to do.
SIA was forced to retain Boeing 747-400 operation on its Singapore – Tokyo – Los Angeles flights for an additional six months, a route due to switch the A380 with the 12th aircraft delivery (9V-SKL).
The cabin refit programme on Boeing 777-300s (non-ERs) also ground to a halt for some time due to the issue. Only one aircraft had the refit from July 2009 to April 2011 due to the seat certification debacle, with SIA having to roll back on a promise that the products would feature on five routes by late 2009. Koito made the 2006 First Class seats being fitted to those aircraft. What eventually happened?
Ultimately EASA (and the FAA in the US) issued an Airworthiness Directive in June 2011, permitting Koito seats to remain installed for two years. If the seats passed specific tests, this could be extended to six years, with further tests permitting an even longer service life.
However, EASA was “unable to find a way to accept that seats which do not comply with significant parts of the applicable requirements remain in service indefinitely” , noting they had completed “only an abbreviated test programme” . The European regulator ordered that the seats must be completely removed after 10 years.
In early 2013, Singapore Airlines received approximately S$79 million in compensation, combined between Boeing and Koito, so at least some of the related to the seat saga. Fun facts These seats were auctioned from $38 on the inaugural A380 flight
If you wanted to be a part of aviation history and fly on the inaugural Airbus A380 passenger flight from Singapore to Sydney in October 2017, or on the return service the following day, you could do so by bidding as little as US$38 as part of a charity auction held on eBay.
Bids started at:

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.