BOES Aerospace, trends in airplane interiors

The hottest trends in airplane interiors.

The hottest trends in airplane interiors.

 

The cabins that make you feel like home. 

With the growth of global economy, air-travel is booming, therefore the demand for quality in flying is rising fast. The way how people think about the hours spent inside the cabin changed – it’s not only a way of transportation anymore: It became part of the experience. 

In the early days of airplane interior design, it was a common strategy to have all aircrafts look similar : inside & out as well, to promote consistency and instill trust. 

Later as the industry has evolved, new trends began: the onboard passenger experience improved with the new cabin design and ambience. 

The need for advanced products for cabinetry, composite panels, seats, plastic molding, in-flight entertainment, veneers and lavatory is giving better experiences to the travellers. The growing demand from passengers and the innovative developments has led this market to keep growing. With the increasing demand of aircrafts there is an increasing scope for the aircraft cabin interior market to expand.

The way how people think about the hours spent inside the cabin changed.

— BOES Aerospace

Usage of composite materials.

The newest trends regarding the design and manufacturing of airplane cabin interiors include the use of lightweight composite materials such as carbon fiber and glass fibre as well as the use of bioresins.

The use of these composite materials in the aerospace industry is significant especially due to their outstanding mechanical properties such as low density, high specific strengths and good fatigue properties. It is very popular that instead of using potted inserts, they carry out manufacturing of the cabins with high resistance tapes. During design, engineers tend to use FST properties (Flame resistance and smoke toxicity reduction) instead of FR (Flame retardance). 

In other words: they don’t want the passengers to catch on fire. In reality, all materials and material combinations ought to pass the flammability tests first. Besides all, a trend nowadays is the enhancement of the passenger ‘experience’ with accessories in the suite of the airplane.

In-flight Entertainment, Technology and Connectivity

This category covers the fastest growing, fastest developing sector of the aviation industry and includes areas such as accessible content, antennas, passenger apps, moving maps, unique cabin wi-fi features, etc. In response to customer demands, airlines are investing in and have internal teams doing research in the area of entertainment and telecommunication technologies.

Passengers want an easy-to-use and fully integrated connectivity throughout the flight to enjoy their content. The trend is for them to use their own devices during the trip, and for this reason AIM Altitude has developed interesting products that keep mobile phones and tablets steady on the table while also charging them wirelessly.

There are numerous submissions in the multimedia area that will delight every tech fan and make sure that time flies on board. This includes the first 3D monitor for in-flight entertainment, and even VR glasses for deep immersion in new entertainment worlds in the sky.

Another digital trend is the extension of the flight experience to include the time before boarding, such as individual seat selection via a virtual walk through the cabin, and advance selection of films and music on the passenger’s own smartphone or tablet.

Even still, there is a long way to go in terms of connectivity, integrated services, and especially, in UI/UX.

There are more and more interesting products that charge peoples devices wirelessly.

— BOES Aerospace

Passenger comfort.

Making flying almost like a hotel stay.

Panasonic is in the running again, with its Active Noise Control technology for business class seats – another part of the company’s Wellness solution. Built-in active noise control, without the use of headphones, can give business and first-class passengers a more comfortable and restful sleep experience on long-haul flights by reducing background aircraft noise. Calming music or bird noises can even be selected by the passenger, if they find such sounds restful.

The new A380 first-class suites from Singapore Airlines create an experience not far removed from a hotel room. And if you are not traveling alone, a crew member can remove the partition wall to the neighbouring suite and you will have a real double bed.

Qatar Airways goes one step further with the new business class QSuite: when needed, up to four seats can be face each other to create an “open-plan compartment” for the whole family.

Greener Cabin, Health, Safety and Environment

This combines different classes of innovations, all with an environmental focus. Entries in this category must either reduce the negative effects of aviation on the environment, or minimize health or safety hazards and security problems for passengers, staff or live cargo. European and international legislation compliance is taken into consideration for the evaluation of each entry.

Panasonic Avionics is competing with its Nanoe air filtration system, a module which forms part of Panasonic’s Wellness initiative, and which can be integrated into the seat structure of a first or business class seat. The module suppresses airborne and surface viruses, bacteria, mold, pollutants and allergens within its local environment to eliminate odors and improve air quality for the passenger.

Social Spaces.

The theme of flexibility is again seen in the Ultraflex Zone visionary lifestyle concept from AIM Altitude, a social zone offering passengers a destination on board ultra-long-haul flights. Wellbeing and stimulation have been considered in the design, with possibilities for the flexible space including secluded booths for meetings, dining, exercise or meditation; a self-service deli galley; communal standing/perching opportunities; low-resistance exercise activities; a pop-up bar and screened sports events.

QSuite: up to four seats can be faced to each other to create an “open-plan compartment” for the whole family.

— BOES Aerospace

Want to know more?

Crystal Cabin Award at AIX

The Crystal Cabin Award is one of the most coveted seals of quality in the global aviation industry. The finalists have now been decided for each of the eight categories. Competition was never tougher for the 24 places in the finals. The international expert jury viewed and evaluated some 94 shortlisted entries. Airlines, manufacturers, suppliers and universities from all around the world have made it to the last round. Just who will be taking one of the precious trophies home will be decided in Hamburg on 2 April at a celebrity gala dinner for the industry during the leading global trade show, Aircraft Interiors Expo.

An overview of the finalists: 8 categories, 24 innovations

Categories: “Cabin Concepts”, “Cabin Systems”, “IFEC”, “Greener Cabin, Health, Safety and Environment”, “Material & Components”, “Passenger Comfort Hardware”, “University”, and “Visionary Concepts”.

After all, there will be significant innovations in the aircraft industry, –  to get to know the newest trends and technologies it is definitely worth to go visit the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2019 in Hamburg. 

 

Article Sources: 

Interviews

https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/aircraft-cabin-interior-market-analysis-size-share-growth-by-2024-2018-12-16

https://www.businessinsider.com/global-air-travel-is-booming-2017-6?international=true&r=US&IR=T

http://www.mormedi.com/today/aircraft-interiors-expo-2018-hot-topics-and-trends

http://www.crystal-cabin-award.com/cca-news-realeases/article/here-are-the-top-24-aircraft-innovations-for-2019.html