ATW editors discuss new cabin products and innovations seen at the Aircraft Interiors Expo better known as AIX.
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Rush Transcript
Karen Walker: Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for "Window Seat," our Aviation Week Air Transport podcast. I'm Air Transport World and Aviation Week Network, Air Transport Editor-in-Chief, Karen Walker. Welcome on board.
Now, this week, I'm delighted to be joined by my colleagues, ATW Senior Editor, Linda Blachly, and ATW Europe and Middle East Editor, Alan Dron. Linda, Alan, thank you so much for joining me today. You've both recently returned from Hamburg in Germany, where you joined our team of editors covering this year's Aircraft Interiors Expo or AIX, as it's mostly known.
For any of our listeners who haven't been to an AIX, it's a massive expo that brings together all the suppliers and customers of everything that goes on inside the airliner cabin. So, that covers seats, suites, overhead bins, galleys lavatories, entertainment, Wi-Fi, bedding, and all the stuff that's used to serve food and beverages. It's a big and growing sector of the industry and perhaps unlike the aircraft and engines, it's really all about the part of air travel that the customer comes face to face with.
So, Linda, let's start with you. You've covered several AIXs. So, what were some of the key themes and issues that were raised at this year's AIX?
Linda Blachly: Thanks, Karen. What we really saw at AIX this year was that the aircraft cabin is seeing more of an evolution, rather than a revolution, in cabin designs. And that means that a lot of the designs that were already in the works pre-COVID are continuing to be developed as technology moves forward, such as premium cabins, seats with wings, which offer more privacy. And, of course, there has been more of a focus on sustainable seating. Another trend we saw this year was the focus on passenger wellbeing, especially through the use of customizable ambient lighting, which also reduces jet lag, that we saw on the Airbus airspace cabins. Also, one other thing, in-seat smart technology is developing at a rapid pace to include mental wellness programs such as exercises and relaxation from your seat in the air.
Karen Walker: Okay, so an emphasis on making people feel good about being in that cabin, especially perhaps on long-haul flights. So, Alan, there is also adjacent to the AIX expo, there's also a Passenger Experience Conference that happens just before the expo opens. You were at that. What were some of the thoughts that came to you from that?
Alan Dron: Well, this year there was a debate on whether the so-called "seamless journey" can ever be a reality, and one of the well-known consultants from the industry, Eric Bogner, the Executive Creative Director of Consultancy Teague, argued that, "No, frankly, there can't be such a thing." He suggested that rather than trying to create a seamless journey, the industry could rather look to try and create better or less obvious seams. And by embracing the pinch points in the passenger journey, the industry can create opportunities for innovation and collaboration, and hopefully, just make things a bit smoother for passengers. I mean, he talked about small things that can actually have a disproportionately irritating effect, and by removing them, could actually do a lot to just improve the general experience.
For example, one speaker said that one thing that particularly infuriates customers is having to pay for luggage trolleys at airports, and he reckoned that that caused passenger irritation out of all proportion to the small amount of money the airports actually make from the practice. There was one small interesting sidelight, actually, relating to so-called seamless travel. One participant at the panel that immediately followed the seamless journey presentation turned up on stage wearing shorts, which was the result of his baggage going missing at Amsterdam Schiphol, or as he put it, "I encountered a seam."
Karen Walker: I like it. Another part of the passenger experience side that is getting - how can we put this - people just expecting higher and higher standards and for it just to be there, not to be a luxury. And I'm talking about on-board connectivity, the Wi-Fi. We all know in the past that, first of all, you paid quite a lot of money for it often, and then it didn't work. And if it did work, it was very poor. A lot of things are changing on that, and like I say, I would argue that, certainly through the pandemic, people now just absolutely expect to stay connected wherever they are, including on the plane. Alan, I know you tracked that side of the industry quite a lot. What was being said about on-board connectivity at AIX?
Alan Dron: I think the big theme this year was that all the satellite operators are talking about filling the gaps in coverage and improving resilience in that coverage. AIX was immediately preceded by the ViaSat takeover of Inmarsat closing, and there was a lot of talk about improving the depth of coverage. ViaSat traditionally have been strong over North America, whereas Inmarsat had more global coverage, which is a legacy of its origins in maritime communications.
So, as a result of this, Inmarsat's coverage will be supplemented by increased capacity in high-demand regions over the next year or so, as ViaSat will be launching its ViaSat three satellites to build out its coverage from North America. Another of their providers, Anuvu, is also building in more capacity with a mix of geostationary and low Earth orbit satellites. And among its investments will be eight micro-geo satellites to supplement its existing network.
And meanwhile, Intelsat is considering sort of splitting the difference between GEO and LEO satellites, with a constellation of medium-earth orbit satellites, or MEO. Jeff Sayers, President Commercial Aviation, told me that no one orbit does everything you want it to do. So, it will, instead, opt for groups of satellites in multiple orbits. The object for most of the satellite operators, not just Intelsat, is to have enough resilience and capacity to cope with passengers' increasing demands, especially in demand hotspots.
And, as you mentioned, there is a distinct feeling in the sector that fairly soon airlines will simply have to follow the example of hotels 10 to 15 years ago and stop charging passengers to access Wi-Fi on board. It will become such an expected feature that airlines will simply have to provide it for free.
Karen Walker: That's very interesting. Yeah, certainly a lot of things happening on that side of the industry and of course, Delta Air Lines has, in fact, started offering free W-Fi on board. And so, I think you're right, that's a trend that we're going to see. Really, over the same sort of timeframe the AIX was happening, I was in Turkey, in Istanbul, for the IATA AGM, and that's where all the airline executives were at, and the huge conversation there was, of course, sustainability. But it mostly focused on SAF, sustainable aviation fuel, and how to increase that supply. But there was quite a lot of talk about inside the cabin, in terms of how to reduce the use of single-use plastics that's used to serve food and beverages. It's trickier than it sounds, a lot trickier.
Linda, what other things were talked about at AIX in terms of cabins and sustainability?
Linda Blachly: Today, it is not enough to just produce a lighter weight seat in the cabin. In fact, OEMs have been working on lightweight seats for over a decade, but now the focus also includes circularity of materials. Are they made from recycled materials, and can they be recycled at the end of their cabin life? For example, Recaro unveiled its latest sustainability seating concept, and it's called R Spere, that was created with lightweight and recyclable materials, such as cork, wood, fishing nets, and cactus, believe it or not. And then, the fishing nets were used for the netting in the back of the seat. So, I thought that was very interesting. And they're trying to get a lot of feedback from people on this type of a seat. It was a very comfortable seat, in spite of the fact that there may be cactus in it.
Airbus talked a lot about its Airspace Cabin Vision 2035+, which is an evolving look on futuristic cabin design ideas that are focused on sustainability. And they include a bionic design, which used designs that mimic nature, recycled and reusable materials, and more transparency on the environmental footprint. And, one other thing, during the Passenger Experience Conference, Boeing also had an interesting presentation on how its engineers are working on recycling carbon fiber from composite scrap from Triple Seven wings to give them second lives as other products, as well as bringing the recycled material back onto the airplane as cargo bay liners, sidewall and sandwich panels, and partitions.
Karen Walker: Interesting. So, it sounds that people are getting a lot more inventive and innovative in terms of how they're approaching the sustainability issue inside the cabinet. I have to say, when you talked about recycling, while I was at the AGM, I saw an amazing thing. It was Korean Air, a very innovative airline, have made some, you know, the amenity kits that they give for premium passengers, and they come in the... They're typically in a sort of a cloth or plastic bag or something. They've got, the amenity kit, the holder, is made from a recycled life vest, the vest that they can no longer... Expire. And so, once they get to their expiry date, they've been using those. So, it still looks like a life vest. It's still yellow, you can see all the things on it. Really creative.
Linda, another thing you've been tracking for some time is accessibility on board, in particular. And there's been a lot of questioning about why can't people take their own wheelchairs on board, and obviously, there's very limited space, but that sort of thing has been really getting a higher profile. Was some of that addressed at AIX?
Linda Blachly: Yes, very much so. This may be the year that persons with reduced mobility may see substantial movement in the process to eventually allow their powered wheelchairs in the cabin, instead of having to put them in the cargo hold. At last year's AIX, Air4All first displayed its prototype of a modified partly foldable aircraft seat that converts a standard passenger seat to accommodation for wheelchair restrain, which enables the powered wheelchair to fly in the front of the cabin. While this year, Delta Flight Products has teamed up with Air4All and PriestmanGoode to finalize the development of the seat and apply for regulatory certification.
In the meantime, the consortium is hopeful a launch customer will be found soon, given the interest at AIX. And they really did see a lot of interest at AIX about this, and I really think the time is right to move this forward. Also, when you talk about bringing persons with limited mobility in the cabin, you also need to talk about accessible lavatories. So, new this year, ST Engineering has received a supplemental type certificate from IASA for its accessible cabin lavatory, called "Access," which is designed for the A320 family. And the company is now working to make it available on the 737 platform as well. And they're targeting a certification for 2024.
Karen Walker: That's all very interesting then. Now, another hot issue that's getting a lot of conversation at the moment across the industry is the supply chain, and airlines are getting very frustrated about the ongoing delays and problems getting new engines in aircraft, or spare parts for them. It's going to be a hot topic at the Paris Air Show next week, I'm sure. Are we seeing similar issues in terms of the supplies of seats and other major parts for the cabin?
Linda Blachly: Definitely. The general feeling is that overall, the supply chain delays are stabilizing on a low level. They're not getting worse but they're not getting much better either. However, on the IFE side, there's still a computer chip shortage. And to illustrate it, Recaro CEO, Mark Hiller, told me that every second delivery is somehow impacted with late IFE. Overall, to deal with the supply chain issues, either they start production later and they take additional efforts to finish on time, or they deliver seats incomplete to customers or OEMs, and install them afterwards. In other words, Hiller said, "Much more effort is put into having the same performance as before the pandemic."
Karen Walker: A problem there, but it sounds like they're working to try and rectify that. Of course, also what's happening now, post-pandemic especially, is that we've got these new very long-range narrowbodies coming into routes that have traditionally been served by wide bodies, particularly on routes like across the Atlantic. So, did either of you see examples of cabin designs for narrowbodies that are trying to accommodate that, to make people feel more like they are getting a bit of a widebody experience on longer flights? Was any of that on show at AIX?
Linda Blachly: Well, Karen, I saw two cabin designs that come to mind for long-range narrowbodies. One, Air New Zealand has teamed up with Safran Seats to develop a new business premier seat for the 787. For a ultra long-haul market, the seat can convert to a 81-inch bed, which I think sounds very lovely when you're flying those ultra long-range flights. Also, Diehl Aviation and HAECO partnered on a staggered seating concept in business class for single-aisle aircraft. That was interesting. They use the Eclipse staggered seats, and they're designed in either a five or a four-seat configuration. And also, for the A321 XLR, Collins unveiled its newest business class seat designed for the longer-range narrowbody aircraft.
Karen Walker: So, just overall, like I said, both of you have done several AIXs over the years. I just like to ask each of you, I'll start with you, Alan. Was there anything in particular at this one that struck you? Did you see something that you thought that's unusual or that's interesting, or something that caught your eye? It may or may not get into production, but just out of the box ideas. Alan?
Alan Dron: Nothing devastating, but one thing that is actually in production, even now, is something from the French company, Vision Systems, which showed a new concept using what it calls "active glazing," which can be used either for interactive windows or as a partition that can double as a privacy application and information center for passengers. Basically, it's what appears to be a window or a panel that combines technologies that allow it to function either as a dimmable window and also to become completely opaque, which can either give privacy or can be used in partitions, for example, to turn it completely opaque. And so, it can be used as a screen in which to display information, for example, advertising or city information for passengers approaching a destination.
Karen Walker: All right, okay. Linda, anything that struck you?
Linda Blachly: Yes, there was a very interesting innovation on the sustainability side, and it was a Diehl Aviation's prototype of a water reuse system that reuses hand wash water to flush the toilet. I thought that was very interesting. Diehl says the system can save up to 250 liters of potable water per flight, reducing CO2 emissions by 90 tons per aircraft per year. And the system is actually currently being flight-tested on Boeing's ecoDemonstrator. One other thing, it was a product that was unveiled at last year's AIX, that has made substantial strides over the last year, and that's Pexco's AirShield. They've made improvements to it and moved the technology beyond the concept phase. It's been FAA certified for the A320, and it improves the flow of air in the cabin by 230% and reduces shared air particles by 76%, to help minimize the spread of airborne viruses, which I'm not sure, we're not done with yet. And so, Pexco says the product is ready to go on planes whenever they get a launch customer.
Karen Walker: Yeah, actually, you raise an interesting point. If you look at AIX last year versus this year, I think it was natural and understandable. There was a lot of talk and demos on things about virus reduction and antibacterial systems, and all of that. And of course, you could see that in the post-pandemic thing. But if you ask me, I think, I don't know, I think we've gone past that. I think at one point, it looked like everybody was going to really want to see that and still see that active. And I think people certainly want to see a clean cabin, but I don't know, I just get the impression that that is not anymore a priority.
People are very happy to fly without masks, and, like I say, as long as the cabin looks clean, so I'm a little skeptical on that side of things. I think people would want a more comfortable seat and the sort of thing that Alan just talked about, maybe a bit more privacy if that was available, which just brings me to my final question for you both. Obviously, the airlines are still paying off debt; many are restructuring after the effects of the pandemic. Did you get a sense of the industry still looking to invest in better cabin products? Linda, what are your thoughts?
Linda Blachly: Well, AIX said that buyer attendance was up by 59% this year compared to last year. And definitely, the people that I spoke with, they said as airlines are moving into profitability, they are seeing more interesting cabin investments this year. And with sustainability as a priority, they really can't afford not to.
Karen Walker: Very good point. Alan, any final thoughts from you in terms of AIX?
Alan Dron: I thought that it was slightly flatter than last year. I mean, last year, obviously, people were really getting back into the business, and there was a lot of excitement to get back together. I'm still waiting to see detailed figures from the organizers for AIX, but I did notice that around the edges of the exhibition center, there were a few little areas partitioned off and just blank space behind them, which I haven't seen before. And I also noticed that on the last day, it did seem to be remarkably quiet. Now, obviously, the last day is always going to be quieter than the first one or two, but I wasn't the only person to comment on just how quiet it seemed to be on day three. So, I wonder if there's maybe just a surge of interest last year. It is now maybe just tapering off to back to normal levels of interest.
Karen Walker: Yeah, I would also say that maybe the timing this year had something to do with that. Everything is now so crowded with conventions, a real surge back to get their conferences going, and this one was really ending as people were going to be at the AGM and a lot of other conferences and events going around. So. I wonder if maybe that's a little bit of what's going on.
Alan Dron: I think so. Especially with the Paris Air Show coming up in about three days’ time.
Karen Walker: Yeah. Well, a lot of what we've just talked about will, of course, be on exhibit at Paris, so there'd be people trying to get ready for that also.
Alan, Linda, thank you so much for your time today. And thank you also to our producer, Guy Ferneyhough.
And, of course, a big thank you to our listeners. Make sure you don't miss us each week by subscribing to the Window Seat podcast on Apple Podcast or wherever you listen. Next week, please tune in for a special recording from the Paris Air Show, the first since 2019 because of the pandemic. And our team of editors will be covering all the news. So until then, this is Karen Walker, disembarking from Window Seat.
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