Middle East Airlines

1 · POSITION

Middle East Airlines’ business class is a short and medium-haul cabin built on a seat taken from a catalogue rather than commissioned. In April 2019 the airline ordered eleven firm and seven optional full cabin fits for its A321neo fleet, the business seat being Recaro’s CL5710, an electrical business class seat for short and medium-haul flights. The cabin is twenty-eight seats in a two-by-two arrangement. [1, 2]

2 · THE FITTINGS OF A FEW HOURS

Recaro describes a lumbar support system and power controls, more storage space, a leg rest with an integrated foot bar and an extendable cocktail tray table. A large fold-out table carries an integrated tablet holder, and the seat can be equipped with a monitor of up to thirteen inches. The seat pitch is fifty inches. These are the furnishings of a cabin meant for part of a day rather than a night. [1, 2]

3 · ONE SUPPLIER FOR BOTH CABINS

The same order covered economy, where the CL3710 carries a six-way adjustable headrest and is described as the lightest seat in its class. MEA’s chairman, Mohamad El Hout, said the choice assured passengers of comfort, design and quality in both economy and business class, and called the CL5710 the airline’s first choice. Delivery started on 11 July 2020, and by that October MEA had received the A321 bearing manufacturer serial number 10,000. [1, 2]

4 · WHAT IS LAID ON THE SEAT

In August 2021 MEA took a new comfort set from Kaelis for business class, intended, the supplier said, to make the journey warmer and homelike. The blanket has two colours, grey and azure blue; its quilted pattern allows the filling to warm its surfaces equally, it carries an embroidered logo, and it is made of plush and microfibre. The pillow follows the same palette and its case is made of peach skin. The soft goods are where the cabin’s identity is placed. [3]

5 · ⚑ CANDOUR

⚑ Nothing here was fetched from mea.com.lb, which refused every path attempted, including both of its Cedar Lounge announcements; the entry therefore does not rest on the airline’s own description. The Cedar Lounge at Beirut could not be dated or described and is left out. The seat specifications are the manufacturer’s and the comfort set the supplier’s, neither verified in service. All of it concerns the A321neo cabin and must not be read onto MEA’s widebody aircraft. [1–3]