DeeDee Doke/LONDON
From aesthetics to ergonomics, 21st century travellers in both commercial and business aircraft want more. Striving to satisfy them are airlines big and small, completion centres, specialist manufacturers, industrial designers and aircraft makers. All aim to ensure that their products snare - and keep- a significant share of the growing air travel business.
Demanding and well-off passengers - taught to value personal well-being, value for money and cutting-edge technology - no longer accept simply a cramped seat, a reading light, a packaged meal and a relatively quick means of travel for the price of an air fare - especially if they've paid more than budget rates.
Paul Sillers, a London-based consultant who specialises in working with airlines and aircraft manufacturers on inflight product and service analysis and development, says inflight brand and product cycles are getting shorter.
"Once airlines kept the same cabin identity for as much as 20 years. Now that is changing," he says. "Interior décor themes are changed as frequently as every five years. When you consider that it can easily take a large airline as long as 18 to 24 months to install a new concept across its fleet, a four- or five-year life cycle for a product isn't really very long, and it proves that leadership in the market means being continually in a state of upgrading and reconceptualising the inflight product."
Les Simpson, chief executive of UK-based MGR Foamtex, which develops foam-based seating products for airlines, predicts that the race could accelerate with products such as seat covers. Airlines could opt to "refresh" their interiors seasonally, says Simpson, whose company's sales have increased in the past year from £6 million to £10 million ($9 million to $15 million).
Propelled by the competition, which in turn is being fuelled by "a souped-up economy", the fragmented aircraft interiors industry is growing by 5-6% a year, says analyst Neil Hampson of consultants Roland Berger & Partners.
In 1999, the top 100 aerospace companies included interior specialists such as B/E Aerospace, Britax International and DeCrane Aircraft Holdings. US-based B/E Aerospace achieved $325 million in seating and $267 million in interior systems sales, with $7 million in operating profits. In the UK, Britax International's aircraft interiors operation made sales of £213 million ($320 million) and £23 million in operating profit. The Cabin Management group of California's DeCrane Aircraft Holdings, which has been steadily snapping up aircraft interiors companies in recent years to create a one-stop shopping zone for "total cabin capability", reported $74 million in sales, with $24 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
Complicating issues
Complicating operations are regulatory issues, the advent of airline alliances, shortages of skilled workers to turn aircraft into travelling hotels, offices and boardrooms, allegations of air travel-induced health problems and the financial demands of turning investment into profit. All must be dealt with at break-neck speeds because competing airlines need to keep ahead of - or at least stay alongside - their rivals.
The June launch of Airbus' A3XX ultra-large aircraft and Boeing's plans for a 747X stretch add to the complexity of the civil airliner market. The intensity of airline rivalry to do the most with the available onboard space could be just a warm-up for even more elaborate warfare.
"The A3XX is being seen by airlines as a new flagship," Airbus says. While few industry observers expect airlines to install aboard the ultra-large aircraft the array of deluxe amenities that would be found on a cruise ship, the A3XX's additional space will allow more special uses than at present. Despite urging from some quarters to give A3XX economy passengers greater space, interested airlines are hedging their bets for now.
Virgin Atlantic, which plans to buy A3XXs and 747Xs, says: "You can never run away from basic economics. But it does offer previously undreamed of opportunities. It's about using space and it makes customisation easier." Although the airline says it is "early days" to have pinned down its interior plans for either aircraft, it cites separate lavatories for men and women and play areas for children as simple, easily accommodated concepts.
Virgin says Airbus and Boeing were eager to sign the airline as a launch customer because of "our significance as a marquee name" and reputation for interior innovations. "They know we will come up with good ideas," Virgin says.
But while "good ideas" abound for enhancing an aircraft ride with attractive soft furnishings or increasing the number of technological goodies and extraneous creature comforts, the trickiest interior ingredient is still the most basic of aircraft furniture. "The most important element is seats," says Delta Air Lines' vice-president for Europe, Stephan Egli. "The whole feeling of space is most crucial."
Delta offers customers 1.5m (60in) seat pitch in its Business Elite class with a two-two-two configuration, while British Airways has also upped the ante by introducing the first business-class seat that converts into a flat bed. Today, flat beds are virtually old hat in first class. Taking a page out of the executive jet culture, American Airlines will next month up the stakes even further when it inaugurates its "Flagship Suite" concept in first class, complete with swivel chairs and individual workstations.
Economy comfort
Economy class remains mostly uncharted territory where comfort is concerned. Some in the industry believe, however, that it is only a matter of time before increasing public impatience with cattle-car conditions forces the airlines to give greater care to those who pay less to fly.
"Your freedom is constrained by your pocket. People accept flying is going to be uncomfortable, and they shouldn't," says industrial design manager Robin Dunlop, who admits that he, too, is to blame for the proliferation of what he calls "gimmicks" in helping airlines boost profits from the premium-class travel. He says that design teams worldwide are "chomping at the bit" to help airlines improve the climate of comfort throughout an aircraft. "Someone will eventually break the barrier and say 'yes'," Dunlop says.
In the UK, a House of Lords science and technology subcommittee took testimony in May and June about air cabin safety for a report to be issued late this year. What has emerged is that opinion is sharply divided as to the degree that long-haul flights may contribute to health problems such as deep-vein thrombosis, a condition in which blood clots form and, potentially, lead to heart attacks. In public testimony on 16 May, Dr Philip Martin, director general of the Air Transport Users Council, said that his group would like to see "a thorough epidemiological study of deep-vein thrombosis, taking account of the predisposing factors. To advise passengers on what they should do, we need to know what the predisposing factors are, whether there is a problem with seat pitch, or whether it is a problem with the length of time sitting."
The UK enquiry has raised questions of how research should be funded, how such issues as appropriate seat pitch should be determined or regulated and - if a link is made between passenger health hazards and flying - by whom.
UK-based charter operator JMC Airlines is rising to the challenge by offering so-called "spine-friendly" seating, designed by a chiropractor, that fits into a 710mm pitch as part of a fleet overhaul.
Chiropractor and Bosstech co-founder Alan Powell compares developing the best possible airline seat to simulating the forces used by horse riders. The design holds the passenger back in the seat, supporting the body's major weight-bearing points, to prevent slouching and keep the spine erect while avoiding muscular pain and organ compression.
"It maintains the integrity of the pelvis," says Powell. "You [shouldn't] need lumbar support when you're sitting. The spine looks after itself. But you need flexibility, you need to be able to move, and twist and turn and go from one side to the other. The shape [of the seating] permits you to do it; you receive support."
He points out that passengers typically use small pillows to "stuff behind" their lower backs when flying, adding: "I wanted to eliminate the space where that hole used to be."
Powell believes that seat pitch on an aircraft should be at least 812mm. "I personally don't like the seat coming back, and I can see the guy in front of me has dandruff."
At the front of the aircraft, playing for keeps in the seating game has meant developing a seat to fulfill multiple functions - eating, sleeping, working, watching inflight entertainment, and easy maintenance. The cradle seat that British Airways adopted in late 1995 for its long-haul Club World business class, for instance, "still is a fantastic seat to sit in", says BA's Chris Allin. Over two years ago, however, the airline decided to add flat-bed seats in its business class. They began entering the fleet earlier this year.
More space
With its new flat-bed seats of an equivalent seat pitch of 1.83mm, Club World passengers have gained an additional 30% in personal space in the renovation, and the number of Club World seats has dropped from the previous 75 to 70 on high business class configuration aircraft. BA says, however, there will be more of these aircraft operating in their fleet.
Previously, first class had 14 seats, Club World 75 and World Traveler, or economy 277. Now, first class still has 14 seats, Club World 70, the new World Traveler-Plus category has 30 and the basic World Traveler 177 - an overall drop of 75 seats.
The new Club World seating positions half of the seats facing the front of the aircraft, and the other half facing the rear. BA research determined that under 3% of Club World's passengers stated they would not use rear-facing seats. In practise, Allin reports, the figure is less than this, with many customers considering it a novelty. Overall, passenger satisfaction ratings are significantly on the rise since the beginning of Club World changes in February, he adds.
In addition, innovations such as quick-release covers created by MGR Foamtex for the new seats, are contributing to significantly reduced maintenance times - another benefit of switching seating.
Nevertheless, ongoing evolution means that some changes already are expected for Club World furnishings, even as the programme enters its final phase of installation across the fleet. One change planned is to the privacy screens installed between pairs of seats, which currently resemble fold-up desk tops.
Virgin Atlantic says its philosophy is not to give passengers what they think they want, but to give them what they did not know they wanted. To that end, the £37 million renovation of Virgin's Upper Class was based on a theatre, with the new flat-bed seat serving as the stage, says Joe Ferry, the airline's industrial design manager: "To get to that level, you have to develop an aesthetic for the design language."
A joint venture was forged between Virgin and Reynard Aviation, of Adrian Reynard's motor racing design group, to manufacture the seats, which resemble those from glamourous cinemas of the Art Deco era. Reynard's expertise in motor racing also brought the Virgin team experience in applying the lessons of using lightweight metals, which proved to be a cornerstone of the design for the electronic chair.
The design company of Priestman Goode, aided by Ergoworks, was brought in to further develop Virgin's concept, which included retaining the then-current 1.34m pitch allotment for each seat. The rigid shell-backed seat-bed, which has no seat tracks, slips under the passenger seat in front, providing 2.03m of space in which to recline. As with BA, trimming seat maintenance time was essential.
Research and development for the seat cost £1 million. Half of the £40 million spent on renewing Upper Class went into the seat itself. "We didn't leave any stone unturned," Ferry says. "We learned so many lessons, so many tricks."
Technological advances could push the envelope of seating conveniences even further, however, suggests Trevor Skelly, B/E Aerospace's vice-president for main cabin and regional seating. "Tomorrow's seat may have smart electronics, say, for frequent fliers, that would remember the seating position you like," says Connecticut, USA-based Skelly.
Taking the theatre theme to the next level in Virgin's revitalisation is new lighting. Equation Lighting and Equation Productions developed an eight-setting light program, based on "a basic mixture of blue and white", that runs the gamut of experiences likely to occur on a flight. The crew operates the lights from three different controller zones, which are designed to be user-friendly. "No aggressive technology has been brought into the cabin," he says.
Aim Aviation, which has lighting customers including BA and Virgin, says mood lighting enhances the flight experience through physiology and psychology and can combat the disassociative effects of jet lag. Turning off the light completely can force passengers to "semi-revert into animal 'fright or flight' mode", says Aim managing director Peter Forbes. Graduating brightness and colour into natural lighting schemes, on the other hand, prompts the body to secrete melatonin and into "a phase inducing sleep, confidence and security", Forbes adds.
Mood lighting
The next generation of mood lighting is "not far behind", but will be lighter, less expensive and less difficult to install, predicts Rolf Startin, AIM's director of lighting systems. The major change will probably see lighting data transmission evolve from a system of "a twisted pair of wires" into fibre optics. AIM, however, has already extended its approach to setting the proper scene by invoking the additional sensations of sound and smell, such as scents of lavender and ground coffee beans, to create a harmonious cabin environment overall.
In an arena less visible to air travellers, but highly significant to the airlines, some industry observers expect aircraft manufacturers to begin opting more frequently for preferred interiors suppliers as the race to equip new aircraft intensifies. Airbus acknowledges that such a path "is consistent with the sort of direction we've been taking".
Typically, a supplier's late delivery affects delivery to a customer, "and the customer won't be happy. If the product doesn't work, the customer won't be happy. In that situation, we will do everything we can to help the customer. But it is a contract between the supplier and the airline, we don't have a lot of leverage. Therefore, there's been movement toward preferred suppliers." Airbus adds: "We remain open to going down that road in the future."
For the business aviation industry, particularly in the USA, late interior deliveries has become a crisis in step with the industry boom itself - "the best of times, the worst of times", says Steve Hannah of Raytheon's completion centre in Waco, Texas.
Cheryl Strack, vice-president of Dallas-based interior design firm Aviation Concepts, says: "Industry overload is the biggest problem we're facing today."
Raytheon is still on the rebound from overload, resulting in "schedule slips and missed commitments" in a rapacious climate of strong economies, busy executives, increasing interest in travel and greater emphasis on travelling comfortably and productively. Says Hannah: "The entire industry underestimated the scope of the work that would be required to outfit the array of business jets and meet customers' changing requirements."
In particular, integrating soft-switch panels and electrical elements associated with in-flight entertainment and satellite communications providing "the office in the sky" concept turned out to be more complicated than anticipated, Hannah says. Now Raytheon is working with customers to "define requirements earlier" so it can increase lead times for its suppliers to keep up with demand. "Our objective is to be the best in the world at integration of components," Hannah says, "and not to try to be the best in the world at everything."
Learning to say no
A US industry source says: "This sort of influx and overload certainly should compel the completion centres to know when to say 'no'." Delivery delays of four to six months are the current standard in the currently "constipated" climate, the source adds. "Everyone's trying to hurry, hurry, hurry and the end product suffers."
A company fast gaining ground in the corporate completion field is DeCrane Aircraft Holdings of El Segundo, California. In the past two months, DeCrane has announced interiors-related acquisitions of Wisconsin-based ERDA, best known for innovative design and manufacture of technically advanced, lightweight aircraft seating; Carl F Booth, a wood veneer product supplier, based in Indiana; and the San Antonio-based Aviart Group, which manufactures upholstery, cabinetry and finishes.
With the acquisition of ERDA, the USA is left with "basically two seating manufacturers - DeCrane and B/E Aerospace," says Mike Oleson, president of Oleson Technologies, a Florida company specialising in dynamic seat certification and installation approval.
With a nod to the torrent of acquisitions by committed companies, Strack predicts that the boom could lead to a narrowing of the field of corporate aircraft interiors specialists, while those in for the long haul emphasise the recruitment of skilled workers to create the airborne amenities that moneyed clients want. "Some upstart completion centres are not going to make it," she says.
Source: Flight International
