Lars Rinne and James Lee have spent the past decade designing seats for people who never sit still.
From the sleek cabins of Airbus aircraft to the luxury motorcoaches now crisscrossing North America, the Hong Kong-based entrepreneur has built a career around one question: How do you turn travel into rest?
That question and a phone call from a U.S. partner led to Butterfly Flexible Seating, the company behind the lie-flat suites in Napaway’s first-class buses. Now, Rinne is expanding the company’s footprint to Canada, introducing the aerospace-inspired seating at the Ontario Transportation Expo in April.
“It went well. People liked it,” Rinne says of the debut. “One operator described it as having all the comforts of home.”
The Butterfly Motorcoach Suite features a 3-in-1 design that converts from a pair of recliners into a private lounge or a 78-inch lie-flat bed. The system is already used by U.S. operators like Venture Tours, Anderson Coach & Travel, Starr Tours, and Black Tie Transportation, with growing interest from clients in the sports, entertainment, and corporate travel sectors.
Butterfly’s expansion into Canada includes a special offer: the first Canadian operator to install a full set of Butterfly seats will receive preferred commercial terms and enhanced support.
“I’m committed to Butterfly’s success in Canada,” Rinne says. “And I’m excited to offer this incentive to the first operator who steps forward.”
Luxury travel on the rise
The company’s Canadian strategy comes as demand for comfort-first travel is increasing. In the U.S., charter services account for 66% of all motorcoach mileage, according to the American Bus Association, and more than half of operators plan fleet upgrades by 2028. In Canada, the charter market is growing by 5% annually, and as much as 8% in cities like Calgary.
With airfare prices climbing and domestic flight availability still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, premium coach travel is gaining momentum.
“People want more comfort,” Rinne says, who documented his experience traveling across the U.S. in a Napaway coach. “And we know there’s demand – we’ve seen it with Napaway in the U.S.”
Napaway was co-founded by Dan Aronov, who partnered with Butterfly after a business-class flight experience sparked an idea: what if buses could be just as comfortable as airplanes? Aronov and Rinne adapted Butterfly’s aircraft design into a road-ready seating system, with Butterfly taking shares in the company and granting Aronov U.S. exclusivity.
The resulting design, produced in partnership with Mexican manufacturer Amaya, blends comfort with durability. It includes privacy screens, personal storage, charging ports, and first-class styling with wider seats and more lateral room than traditional bunks.
Railway to use system
Butterfly is already being explored for new applications. Rinne recently sold a shipment of suites to a long-distance railway in Canada operated by an Innu community. The debut is part of the full modernization of Tshiuetin Rail Transportation, North America’s first Indigenous-owned railway.
“The Butterfly seating system introduces 3-in-1 functionality to the rail industry. Each seat pair converts from two upright recliners to a private lounge or a fully flat 78-inch bed — all with a simple lever pull,” he says about the project, which was a subject on the company’s blog. The transformation is made possible by a manual flip-over mechanism, originally developed for use in air and applied to the Butterfly Motorcoach seats.
The debut of the Butterfly Rail seat is part of a comprehensive train refurbishment project led by Canadian Railway Services (CRWS) for Tshiuetin Rail. This Indigenous-owned railway connects Schefferville to Sept-Îles, Quebec—a vital 12-hour journey through remote terrain that delivers food, fuel, and essential transport to Innu, Naskapi, and Cree communities.
Backed by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the project emphasizes passenger comfort, cultural respect, and inclusive design. Partners include Rail GD Inc. and Morelli Design Transport.
“This collaboration shows how adaptable design can meet real community needs,” Rinne says. “It’s fast to install, simple to use, and adds measurable value for both passengers and operators.”
