Trends in aircraft-interior design are being dominated by the increasing need for passenger comfort and entertainment
Gunter Endres/LONDON
THE CABIN-INTERIORS market has undergone significant changes in the past few years, prompted largely by the recession in the air transport industry. The inability of airlines to finance new equipment has resulted in a measurable increase in refurbishment work as the most cost-efficient means to extend the life of existing fleets. The market has also been boosted by the scramble to beat the competition to the biggest and best inflight entertainment (IFE) system available.
The simple and innovative armrest and seat-back video - not so long ago the privilege of first- and business-class passengers only - is now increasingly being found in economy-class cabins. The latest systems have lifted the concept to new heights, with "interactivity" the buzzword of today.
Advances in interactivity will soon allow travelers to gamble away their credit-card limits in the air without having to leave their seats. These same passengers will be overwhelmed by a bewildering array of individually controlled videos, games and music programmes. They will be able to reserve a hotel room, rent a car, and do the shopping while sitting comfortably at 39,000ft (12,000m) in seats designed to massage the lower back to prevent stiffness of the joints through prolonged inactivity. The ability to make telephone calls and send fax messages, is already available and the quality is constantly being improved.
Passengers can also rest secure in the knowledge that the newest seats will provide better protection as well as comfort, being designed to withstand a 16G impact if the unexpected should happen.
INTERACTIVITY: MAGIC OR MIRAGE?
The vast majority of wide body aircraft are expected to be newly equipped or retrofitted with interactive video systems which, according to BE Aerospace, will account for 35% of the $1 billion annual cabin interiors market. The company competes in the IFE sector against the likes of GEC-Marconi Inflight Systems, Hughes Avicom, Matsushita Avionics Systems and newcomer Interactive Flight Technologies (IFT). At the World Airline Entertainment Association 's annual conference, in Amsterdam beginning on 12 September, Sony Trans Com and Microsoft will announce yet another system.
BE Aerospace's new interactive B/E 4000 multimedia digital distribution system (MDDS) has generated orders worth $250 million from British Airways, KLM and Air France Group. Among the features on MDDS are games, video-on-demand (VOD), audio-on-demand (AOD), gambling systems and shopping transactions. Installation of the first system for BA will start in September, with full MDDS production starting up in October.
Although all manufacturers claim interactivity as a feature, airline experience so far suggests that these capabilities have been oversold, and that much work still needs to be done to make these highly sophisticated systems workable and reliable in an aircraft-cabin environment.
United Airlines' GEC-Marconi inflight-systems equipment, installed on its Boeing 777s and intended for the rest of the fleet, is not yet being used in its interactive mode. Northwest's and Virgin Atlantic's Hughes Aircom 150 systems have been performing below expectation and are used without revenue-generating interactive elements, pending a solution of the technical and reliability issues.
The experience of Singapore Airlines, with its Matsushita-produced 2000E entertainment system, has been more positive, with few operational problems reported. It cannot yet provide VOD, AOD, or interactive credit card or cash inflight-shopping, but these capabilities will be added for its first- and Raffles-class passengers in 1996. Cathay Pacific will be doing the same, again with a Matsushita system.
Las Vegas-based IFT insists its In-Flight Entertainment Network (IFEN), is the most advanced system around and the only truly interactive one, dismissing similar claims made by the other providers. IFEN, the company says, features "...distributed network architecture incorporating technology superior to any competing analogue or digital system, providing multi-layered security, while reducing the risk of a single point failure disrupting more than a small part of the network". Only in-service results will prove or disprove such confident assertions.
IFEN is being tested on an Alitalia McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-11 and, if successful, the Italian flag carrier is expected to sign a contract to outfit all eight of its MDC tri-jets.
IFT's system offers secure casino-style gambling, VOD (up to 30 digitised films which can be started, paused and stopped at any time) plus duty-free shopping. A large, 9.5in (240mm), colour touch-screen offers an enhanced resolution, 640 x 480-dot, display.
The problem of fitting a large screen and food tray into a cramped space is being overcome by a design which combines both. IFT has produced a prototype where the whole unit pulls out like a tray, and the screen, supported by controllable pivots, pops up from the centre.
Payment is made via a credit card or prepaid debit card, which is swiped through a groove in the back of the seat. Winnings from gambling are credited through IFT's Central Ground System via satellite or wire.
With gambling in the air still illegal in some countries (the USA, for instance), airlines will have to be careful that they do not violate local laws. A recent ruling by the US Department of Transportation permits foreign airlines flying into the USA to install casino-style gambling, provided that it is disabled during transit through its airspace. Putting a limit on losses (although not on winnings) is another means of preventing uncontrolled gambling.
Notwithstanding the present restrictions, gambling in the air is set to become a staple item in the growing range of IFE services, appealing to the passenger for a chance at the jackpot, and to the airline as a new source of much-needed extra revenue.
The proliferation of a growing number of different IFE systems, while affording choice to the customer, is a cause for concern for aircraft manufacturers. Airbus Industrie and McDonnell Douglas have joined a Boeing-led initiative aimed at establishing common standards and interfaces so that all IFE systems will be suitable for all airframes. In the meantime, Boeing is putting the onus on the airline, refusing to take responsibility for the performance of any IFE system, which it has previously warned its customers that it considers high risk.
SITTING PRETTY
The requirements for lighter weight, together with still-greater strength, continue to shape the development of passenger seats. This twin-pronged engineering challenge, combined with airline demands for more comfort and flexibility in seating configurations, has brought some interesting new designs to the market.
Partial composite construction - for lower weight and higher strength - is slowly replacing traditional metal frames, with some seat manufacturers producing seat-pans and backs in composite materials. Only C&D Interiors, one of many US West-Coast suppliers, is believed to be marketing a virtually all-composite seat - with the exception of the legs - based on a carbonfibre-reinforced-plastic construction used in its "Super Bins" storage bins and side-wall panels. Weight saving is around 10%, but they cost 20% more than conventional seats.
The new seat, the company's first entry into the market, is targeted at regional aircraft, and specifically at the new Embraer EMB-145. Dynamic testing to the US Federal Aviation Administration's new 16G standards is nearing completion.
BE Aerospace's (BEA's) newest business-class seat is the Ambiance 960, which will be available with adjustable leg rest, headrest, dynamic lumbar support and full IFE capabilities. It is also the first business-class seat to offer a power supply for laptop computers.
Air France is introducing a revolutionary new sleeper seat in September on its re-vamped long-haul services. The sleeper, designed by Paris-based Sicma Aero Seat, is the first in the world to recline into a complete bed. In October, British Airways is expected to go one better by installing a similar seat-bed, but in individual private-passenger cabins.
CONVERTIBLE COMPROMISE
With airlines embroiled in a fiercely competitive war to win business and maximise revenues as they fight their way out of the recession, the convertible seat (CVS) is an attractive option. The CVS allows airlines to convert a bank of standard economy seats into business-class seats, and vice versa, in minutes, to satisfy changing passenger distribution demands at different times of day.
Although not yet in widespread use - many airlines have still to be convinced that the concept will be accepted, especially by business class passengers - new models have been introduced and are being tested by interested European airlines. The Sicma Aero Seat 625 and Aviointeriors Chameleon feature an innovative worm-drive in place of the mechanical latching system of other CVS, such as the Keiper Recaro CVS and the new variable-geometry seat, developed by BEA. Sicma was the first company to introduce the worm-drive system, which entered trial service on two MD-80s with Austrian Airlines and Swissair in January. Burns Aerospace will soon be launching its new, lighter, Selectus convertible, but has not yet finalised its operational system.
The manually or electrically operated worm-drive models differ in that the seat expands or contracts to the required width like a concertina. With the mechanical latching system, only the space between the arm- and backrests is increased. The concertina principle provides increased width of the seat pan and back cushions in the expansion process. On the Sicma 625, spring-loaded wings extend from the central backrest to fill the space.
Every movement of the 625 and Chameleon, introduced by Rome based Aviointeriors, at this year's Paris air show, is controlled by a single shaft, with seat pans, backrests and armrests mechanically linked. Adjustments are activated via a handle and require no skill by the operator. Full motorisation, with a central control panel located in the cabin-crew compartment where the flight attendant can select the number of rows to be converted, is available as an option on both models.
The Chameleon triple-reducing seat, for example, can be converted from a three-seat 432mm economy configuration, into a two-seat 483mm business-class arrangement, in under 20s. It is aimed at the US market where passengers are more used to first-class comfort. So far, only USAir has installed the CVS.
The CVS is clearly a compromise, and European airlines seem prepared to live with it more easily than their US counterparts. Some minor problems still have to be ironed out in terms of comfort levels, but at least two manufacturers are vying for the prize for the most innovative "comfort gadget".
BEA is offering the Back-cycler CPM electric lumbar-support system developed by the University of Vermont. It consists of an air pad, which inflates and deflates every 2min, acting like a massage on the lower back, reducing stiffness and fatigue through flexing the spine. Keiper Recaro's new first class sleeper seat introduces a comfort-management system, which uses a smart-card to memorise the optimum seating position for each passenger.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
In addition to being entertained in comfort, the passenger needs to be fed and watered to round off the quality air-travel experience. This is nothing new, but manufacturers of galley equipment now provide greater assistance to airlines, helping them in their efforts to add variety and imagination to their inflight-catering service.
The days of dried-out food could be numbered if a new steam oven offered by BE Aerospace's Galley division, and being tested on board Swissair aircraft, delivers all it promises. The manufacturer claims that the steam oven - which is capable of preparing up to 32 meals - will reduce cooking time by 30% over conventional methods.
The Steamer Oven weighs the same as a standard convection oven and has several interesting features, including self-diagnostic electronics, low exterior-surface temperatures and low operating pressure for enhanced safety.
BA has stolen a march on some its competitors by being able to offer Espresso and Cappuccino dispensed from a rail-mounted machine which is interchangeable with other coffee makers; a service also recently introduced by BEA.
C & D Interiors, on the other hand, is going down market, developing a range of low-cost inserts - coffee makers, ovens and refrigeration equipment - for those airlines which do not require highly-sophisticated systems for the preparation of food and drink.
Source: Flight International
