Aircraft lighting specialist STG Aerospace is launching a version of its LiTeMood LED ambient lighting system for the Airbus A320 and A330, after achieving success on the retrofit market for Boeing narrowbodies.
The company has also announced Small Planet Airlines and XL Airways France as its first two customers. The Lithuanian carrier and the French airline will retrofit the kit on their respective A320 family and A330 fleets this month. Small Planet operates 18 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, while XL Airways France has four of the Airbus widebodies, according to Flight Fleets Analyzer.
Norfolk, UK-based STG moved into ambient lighting about four years ago; until then, it had specialised in photo-luminescent floorpath lighting and emergency signage. Since 2014, it has installed LiTeMood in around 100 Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft operated by some 20 carriers, and has a “pipeline many multiples of that”, says chief executive Nigel Duncan.
The Airbus system – being demonstrated on STG’s stand – is an enhanced version of the two-colour Boeing product. “We’ve retained everything that has made LiTeMood successful for Boeing, but this time it is a full-coloured dynamic system,” he says.
STG is able to offer a more complex product because there is only one incumbent lighting supplier on Airbus aircraft, whereas on Boeings there are several vendors. Airlines also want a “broader choice” on widebody aircraft such as the A330 because passengers are spending a longer time in the air, he says – most of its Boeing installations are on the 737.
The advantage of the “dynamic” lighting is that airlines can offer “animated scenes” such as rolling clouds or even branding – something that is common in premium cabins but rarely in the economy section, says Duncan.
STG says it has launch customers for the product on both A320 and A330 aircraft, but is not revealing them yet.
So far, STG has focused on the retrofit opportunity, but Duncan says the company is looking at developing an original equipment offering. “We are being pursued and will likely launch into this market at some point,” he adds.
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Source: Flight Daily News
