Understanding Airport Furniture Basics

When you are discussing airport furniture you are talking about the airport chairs, lounges, tables, and desks that create the public areas of the waiting rooms. Airport furniture that is used in the break rooms, the lounges, and in the businesses operating inside the structure are not a part of common airport furniture discussions.

The biggest reason why you would be discussing airport furniture is because you are in charge of designing a new waiting room on a structure like this and you are trying to determine what products are available for you to buy, and what products are considered to be the safest in the industry.

The most frequently purchased furnishings for waiting rooms that will be used by the public like the ones in airports, bus terminals, and hospitals, are plastic covered chairs and benches. The cushions are covered with plastic materials that are easy to clean and sanitize. Cleanliness is one of the biggest concerns you have with publicly iced seating.

Cloth chairs appear to be softer and they seem more comfortable than the plastic coated ones do. The problem is that cloth covered chairs get stained from the many spills and accidents that happen in a waiting area and they have to be replaced faster than the plastic covered seats.

When someone has a seat in a waiting room they prefer not to get up and discover that the seat of their clothing has been stained by something that was left on the chair by a previous occupant. Cloth covered chairs can hide stain makers that the last occupant left. Plastic covered furnishings will show what is on them and allow the incidence of stain transferal from occurring as frequently.

People will allow children to stand on furnishings in a waiting room. The same people that will make their children remove their shoes before they are allowed to enter their homes, will let their kids jump on furniture, walk on furniture, and sling their legs over the arms of the chairs in public waiting areas.

When a waiting room is established the designer must consider the amount of abuse that the pieces will be subjected to, and to preparing the pieces to take the abuse and remain safe. The number one thing that is done in public waiting areas to insure safety is to bolt the furnishings to the floor so they cannot be tipped over and cause someone to be injured.

Furniture with metal frames is more popular than pieces with wooden frames. Public waiting rooms must be cleaned with harsh chemicals in order to keep them germ free. Metal frames on the seats can handle stronger chemicals without being damaged than the wooden versions can. The problem with the metal frames is that they may corrode due to heavy exposure to harsh chemical cleansers.

Most furnishings in these types of rooms have a recommended weight capacity. It is wise to have a few chairs in the area that are designed to handle the weight of heavier than average individuals.

Airport furniture needs to be sturdy, reliable, attractive, and dependable. Airport furniture generally does not have cloth covers because people tend to abuse this type of seating.