Cabin interiors rise to the challenge of increasing passenger expectations

Middle East airlines have been leading the way in cabin interior for some time allowing for passenger satisfaction. With the world's largest event that encapsulates everything that is happening within the cabin environment, Aircraft Interiors Expo, it will be interesting to see what is on offer for the future of aircraft interiors.The event takes place at the Hamburg Messe in Germany, from 5 – 7 April.

Increased expectations of what the cabin interior should provide cover everything from more comfort and convenience to inflight entertainment. Picking up on the theme of comfort, one of the major product focus areas of Aircraft Interiors Expo is new seat designs. With business travellers starting to return to business class in healthier numbers it is anticipated that new business class designs will be on show at the event as airlines look around for innovative ideas to enable their growth plans in this area.

New designs for the economy cabin space will also be shown. Italian seat manufacturer Aviointeriors is using the exhibition as the launch platform for its UltraLight Plus economy, short range seating system. The system has been specifically designed and engineered for 28” pitch installations and is made up of a mixture of aluminium and composite panels allowing for increased passenger comfort and a larger living space at 28” pitch.

Inflight entertainment and connectivity is still a buzzing sector with today’s passengers hoping for IFEC systems on even relatively short flights. Aircraft Interiors Expo devotes a whole zone to this subject. Recent trends here include providers increasingly working in conjunction with seat designers and manufacturers to produce more integrated and lightweight products. New IFE supplier Intelligent Avionics is making its Aircraft Interiors Expo debut and will be launching its production ready, seat-integrated AURA system, in an economy class configuration. The company says AURA is an integrated, multi-touch, gesture controlled entertainment and communication system, suitable for all cabin classes, that is more than one tonne lighter than other comparable audio-video on demand (AVOD) systems.

Katie Murphy, exhibition director of Aircraft Interiors Expo, says: “Time and again this exhibition has acted as the launch pad for many cabin interior programmes and innovative new products. We expect this year to be no different with our exhibitors displaying the designs of tomorrow to the world’s airline buyers. The beauty of the event is that we incorporate the breadth of products that cover the whole cabin experience.”