The NewTerritory team headed to Hamburg for the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) — the world’s leading marketplace for airlines and suppliers to come together and showcase advancements in flight. The event offered a glimpse into the future of flying which is both innovative and promising, from circular thinking to inclusive design, Creative Lead, Jérôme Nelet, shares his learnings from the event.
Normalisation and full on integration of alternative mobilities is a good step towards more accessible and inclusive flying experiences. Delta Flight Products is developing a flexible domestic first class seat that humanises wheelchair accessibility.
The notion of comfort is so relative and personal, and providing it for a diversity of passengers through standardised products can be difficult. Lufthansa business class is pushing customisation of comfort with temperature adjustment, beyond the traditional air gasper, by adding a heating and cooling feature onto the seat cushion, allowing passengers to travel their way.
In an industry that is hyper regulated, transitioning to new and more sustainable materials can be a challenge. The seat manufacturer Recaro is testing the integration of alternative plant based material into their seat, proposing cactus based faux leather, cork based injected parts and sugar cane composites.
Upcycling and the consideration for all waste and by-products are key to create more sustainable practices and ultimately reach a circular economy. Boltaron is introducing recycled content into thermoplastics showing that recycled surfaces can look and feel premium with their Terreform collection.
Non lie flat business class are not exactly a novelty, but one may ask do we really need a bed for a 5hr flight? The question makes sense when we think about the economic model as well as the carbon footprint per passenger that’s generated on the front of the aircraft. Thompson Aero Seating was displaying their Vantage duo seat, which made us question — what alternative typologies of seats can be explored as we seek different, more agile ways to fly?
Images courtesy of Delta, Lufthansa, TAS and NT
