Crystal Cabin Award Association is calling for entries

For the eighth year running, the Crystal Cabin Award Association is calling for entries – the latest products and concepts to noticeably improve air travel and protect resources – for the international aircraft cabin competition.

The application phase begins on 9 October and concludes on 12 November, 2013.

Information on the individual categories, the competition rules, and an entry form are all available online at www.crystal-cabin-award.com (Competition).

The winners will be crowned, as always, in association with the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg (8 – 10 April, 2014).

“The Crystal Cabin Awards is a great way to imagine, challenge each other, share innovative concepts and enjoy the competition,” says Brett Bleacher, director of innovations and R&D, Thales IFEC.

Thales was a winner in this year’s Crystal Cabin Award for its special navigation technology for an in-flight entertainment system: eye tracking and gesture control. Soon, passengers will be able to control the entertainment program using hand and eye movements.

Bleacher said: “Our 2013 win for gesture control and eye tracking navigation of an IFEC system continues to spark interest, and time will tell true market potential. In the meantime, Thales is preparing its 2014 entry designed to create an amazing experience, once again, for passenger comfort. Stay tuned!”

MERU from England is also delighted with the attention that winning in this year’s competition brought to its flexible seat for disabled children.

“The CC Award literally opened doors for us to talk to more customers. It gives our MERU TravelChair enormous credibility in the aviation sector, bringing confidence to both the product and its implementation by operators,” said Graham Race, MERU design engineer. “In general, the appetite across the aviation industry to improve the provision of seating for disabled people has substantially increased.”

Bengt Brötzmann and René Waldheuer from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences can confirm that taking part in the competition is a worthwhile venture for students, too: “The Crystal Cabin Award is the ideal platform to draw attention to your own concepts and ideas in this high-tech industry. Winning the award opened up completely new opportunities and perspectives for us. And belief in our ideas was strengthened, too.”

The two students won the award this year in the University category, receiving a trophy and prize money, for their “Big Lavatory Concept” – an on-board lavatory which offers more space by positioning the toilet diagonally.

Almadesign from Portugal say that winning the award last year really gave them wings. With their LIFE concept (Lighter, Integrated, eco-Friendly and Efficient aircraft cabin), the consortium of Almadesign, Amorim Cork Composites, Couro Azul, INEGI and SET, working together with Embraer, combined state of the art technologies with natural and sustainable materials for a business jet cabin of the future. “The Award brought global recognition to all partners as companies that are capable of tackling the future challenges of aircraft cabin design,” said José Rui Marcelino and André Castro from Almadesign.

Contact Carmen Krause, project manager, for more information about the various sponsorship packages: [email protected].