Design agency Tangerine has highlighted its collaboration with Boeing and Rockwell Collins in developing 787 cabin interiors for Gulf Air as part of the Bahraini carrier's wider rebranding project.
The cabin design spans new business and economy sections. For the airline's Boeing 787s – the first of which joined the fleet in April – Tangerine added raised privacy panels to the business-class suites in order to divide the cabin.
Tangerine
"We had to work closely with Boeing to ensure these were as high as possible whilst meeting tight line-of-sight visibility regulations for the crew," states creative lead Daniel Flashman.
The panels, he adds, feature a 3D-sculpted surface, "inspired by the iterative geometric forms found in Bahraini architecture".
Flashman notes that the "sweeping, almost gold trim" of the business-class suites "subtly echoes the falcon wing-tip developed by Saffron" – the agency that created Gulf Air's new livery (below) and brand identity.
Tangerine sought to make "small strategic modifications" that would deliver "large improvements to the business-class seat" without compromising the delivery schedule". For example, the entrance way to window seat incorporates a flip-down footrest with a magnetic latch, in order to improve the bed space.
The armrest, meanwhile, has been stacked with the central console, and the shape of the back-shell modified to enhance space.
Such changes were achieved through "close collaboration" with the business-class seat's manufacturer Rockwell Collins, says Tangerine.
The agency's chief creative officer Matt Round adds that it "curated the design carefully across multiple seating products and aircraft, including the 787, A320 and A321, to ensure that a cohesive brand and customer experience is established across every touchpoint of Gulf Air's service".
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that, in addition to one 787-9, Gulf has 16 A320s, seven A321s and six A330s in service. It also another 15 787-9s on order, along with 17 A321neos and 10 Bombardier CS100s.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
