Always used to conventional airplane cabin designs? The winners of the current Crystal Cabin Awards, which promotes the most innovational ideas on plane interiors, give us a peek into what we have missed over the past year and a glance at what is to come.
The awards for this year go to designs inclusive of personalized, hyper-connected future cabins and a stylish electric jet interior intended for commuters. After the shortlist was announced in January 2020, the results were to be disclosed in March 2020 at the Aircraft Interiors Expo, which was to be held in Hamburg, Germany. However, due to Covid, these events were delayed and the designers were ultimately rewarded this week at a virtual ceremony.
In regards to the Covid-19 pandemic, project director at Crystal Cabin Award Association, Carmen Krause-Bosterling had this to say, “If air travel demand is to rise again, what is required now are assuring ideas that encourage passengers in the same measure. The award shows an industry’s response to these challenging times.”
One of the fascinating ideas from the Award’s original shortlist included the ‘Flex Lounge’, a design from Heinkel Group engineering company. This envisioned a flexible seat row arrangement for economy cabins. The idea was that after take-off the rows could be rearranged by the flight attendants so that the passengers could face one another.
Among the winners for the year was Alice, the electric jet that won the category for Cabin Concepts. Alice, a product of Eviation Aircraft from Israel, and known as the first entirely electric commuter jet plane, was recognized for its inventive cabin interior, which can hold a maximum of nine passengers over a 1000 km distance. The seating arrangement in the Alice is designed in ‘reverse herringbone ‘, which means passengers will face the jet’s windows.
The ‘Airspace Cabin Vision 2020’ by Airbus was also recognized in the category for Visionary Concepts. The design provides an environment that is digitally enabled, and is based on the idea, “you will continue to experience on an aircraft what you experience on the ground, ” according to Airbus VP marketing, Ingo Wuggetzer. This design has luggage cabins that light up green or red, which depends on whether they are empty or full.
In the Passenger Comfort Hardware category, the Modulair S economy seat by Safran Seats took lead. Developed by ENSCI, a French University, it demonstrated add-ons such as a tablet holder and neck support to make the economy cozier. The ROW1 seat by Ciara Crawford was also nominated for its ability to allow a wheelchair to fit effortlessly through rows, promoting a more convenient airplane experience.
Safran also got two more awards for its Inflight Entertainment System that is Bluetooth-enabled, allowing the use of personal headsets instead of headphones provided by the airplane, and for a trolley that communicates and collects real-time data in the Cabin Systems category.
The Cincinnati University won in the University category for its ‘coffee house’ design, which reconceives how business passengers could work in flight.
The Aircraft Interiors Expo to be held in Hamburg in August is yet to announce the ‘Clean and Safe Air Travel’ and ‘Judges’ Choice Award’ categories, designed to acknowledge the Covid-19’s impact on aviation.
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Photo Credit: Crystal Cabin Award