{"id":15146,"date":"2024-07-08T10:25:40","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T07:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=15146"},"modified":"2024-07-08T10:25:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T07:25:40","slug":"aircraft-interiors-industry-development-summary-may-jun-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=15146","title":{"rendered":"Aircraft Interiors \u2013 industry development summary: May\/Jun-2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This regular\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0report provides a summary of major developments in the aircraft interiors sector, supported by data from the\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0Aircraft Interiors Database and\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0News.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Region Focus:\u00a0Middle East<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The\u00a0Middle East<\/a>\u00a0has long enjoyed the spotlight in the interiors space. Although the region may not always be the pioneer, its every move attracts global attention.<\/p>\n

In the latest edition of\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>‘s interiors development summary, we take a deeper look at various interiors activities occurring in the region.<\/p>\n

In the seats space,\u00a0Emirates Airline<\/a>\u00a0has continued to gain attention with its retrofit project.<\/p>\n

The plan can only be described as ‘mammoth’, both in terms of scale and speed. Recently expanded to cover 191 aircraft, the project entails seat reupholstering, adding premium economy cabins, and the introduction of direct aisle access business class onboard the\u00a0Boeing 777<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although the\u00a0Dubai<\/a>-based airline is often among the first mentioned in any discussion of premium airlines, it has actually lagged its peers in certain areas.<\/p>\n

Emirates<\/a>‘ premium economy product entered the market at a time when 40% of passenger widebodies in service globally already offered the cabin type.<\/p>\n

Percentage share of premium economy seat manufacturer on global in-service passenger widebodies (dark blue denotes lack of premium economy), 2015-2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0Aircraft Interiors Database.<\/p>\n

The airline’s recent decision to introduce 1-2-1 business class on the\u00a0777<\/a>\u00a0can also be seen as playing catch up. Approximately half of the thousand-plus passenger 777s in service around the world offer a direct aisle access product.<\/p>\n

Emirates<\/a>\u00a0will have its first 1-2-1\u00a0Boeing 777<\/a>\u00a0business class entering service on 11-Aug-2024 – it should be mentioned that, while this target date is unlikely to slip, the overall project has faced various delivery setbacks.<\/p>\n

When the retrofit project was first announced in 2022,\u00a0Emirates<\/a>\u00a0had ambitions to “completely retrofit four \u2026 aircraft from start to finish every month, continuously for over two years” with full fleet completion by Apr-2025.<\/p>\n

It’s now been almost two years since that announcement.<\/p>\n

Let<\/a>‘s check on\u00a0Emirates<\/a>‘ progress by checking the share of\u00a0Emirates<\/a>\u00a0fleet with premium economy.<\/p>\n

Percentage share of premium economy seat manufacturer on\u00a0Emirates<\/a>\u00a0in-service passenger fleet (dark blue denotes lack of premium economy), 2015-2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0Aircraft Interiors Database.<\/p>\n

With the coverage rate just over 10%, it’s hard to imagine the airline wrapping everything up by Apr-2025.<\/p>\n

This by no means indicates that\u00a0Emirates<\/a>\u00a0is at fault, as hiccups with the global supply chains continue to challenge every corner of the aviation industry. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating case of expectations being far from the reality.<\/p>\n

flydubai<\/a>\u00a0is another\u00a0Dubai<\/a>-based airline that has had to walk back from dates announced in press releases.<\/p>\n

The airline has introduced a host of business class products over the years: first with the lie-flat Thompson Vantage in 2017, the\u00a0HAECO<\/a>\u00a0(now ZIM) Eclipse recliners in 2022 and, in mid-2023, plans to add\u00a0Safran<\/a>\u00a0Vue direct aisle access lie-flat seats.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Safran<\/a>\u00a0Vue seats were due to debut before the end of 2023 but now, in mid-2024, there is still no sign that the product has entered service.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether\u00a0Boeing<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Safran<\/a>\u00a0is causing the delivery challenges.<\/p>\n

It is also a possibility that\u00a0flydubai<\/a>\u00a0has chosen to scrap the plan completely. The airline made a curious choice to replace\u00a0Geven<\/a>\u00a0Comoda seats with Thompson Vantage seats for its\u00a0737<\/a>-800 retrofit project, rather than opting for the latest\u00a0Safran<\/a>\u00a0Vue or similar category Eclipse recliners.<\/p>\n

Percentage share of business class seat model on\u00a0flydubai<\/a>\u00a0fleet in service (grey denotes lack of business class), 2015-2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0Aircraft Interiors Database.<\/p>\n

This is not\u00a0flydubai<\/a>‘s first out-of-the-ordinary interiors decision.<\/p>\n

The airline was forced to come up with in-house solutions when the 737NG IFE provider Lumexis exited the business in 2016. The airline did eventually rip out the FTTS screens and opted for streaming entertainment instead. However, in the latest twist, seatback IFE is returning to the 737NGs with the\u00a0Safran<\/a>\u00a0RAVE retrofit.<\/p>\n

flydubai<\/a>\u00a0also chose to give up on inflight connectivity, first by not opting for installation on the\u00a0737<\/a>\u00a0MAX, then by removing the\u00a0Anuvu<\/a>\u00a0systems altogether on the 737NG. It is as yet undecided whether a fleet-wide IFC provider will be chosen when the airline receives its first\u00a0Boeing<\/a>\u00a0787<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking beyond\u00a0Dubai<\/a>, other airlines in the region are also making major interiors decisions.<\/p>\n

Around the time of the Aircraft Interiors Exposition (AIX) 2024, there was a flurry of announcements from Middle Eastern airlines.<\/p>\n

Etihad Airways<\/a>\u00a0joined the business-plus trend when it announced its own version for future A321LRs.<\/p>\n

Acro secured\u00a0flyadeal<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pegasus Airlines<\/a>\u00a0as new customers for its latest Series 9 seats.<\/p>\n

Other airlines are showering love on vendors from their home nations. Flynas teamed up with\u00a0SkyFive<\/a>\u00a0Arabia to introduce ATG connectivity in\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/a>.\u00a0Turkish Airlines<\/a>‘ LCC subsidiary\u00a0AJet<\/a>\u00a0signed to become a launch customer of\u00a0TCI Aircraft Interiors<\/a>‘ IFC solutions.<\/p>\n

There was also a series of defects:\u00a0Jazeera Airways<\/a>\u00a0chose the\u00a0Expliseat<\/a>\u00a0TiSeat E2, marking an upset for ZIM Group;\u00a0Qatar Airways<\/a>‘ fleet-wide deal with Starlink is certainly not good news for\u00a0Viasat<\/a>;\u00a0AirFi<\/a>\u00a0was no doubt displeased with\u00a0Air Arabia<\/a>‘s decision to switch to\u00a0Panasonic<\/a>\u00a0eXW wireless IFE solutions across its fleet.<\/p>\n

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AIX<\/span>\u00a02024<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Highlight 1 – IFEC Transformation Continues Gaining Ground<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) is recognised as a key marketplace for airlines and the supply chain to meet.<\/p>\n

Weight has always been at the forefront of interiors development. With rising fuel costs and a growing shift to sustainable practices, the need to both innovate at the same time as lowering mass has never been more important.<\/p>\n

At\u00a0AIX<\/span>\u00a02024<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0EVA Air<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Air Canada<\/a>\u00a0joined the already long list of Astrova clients, including\u00a0Qatar Airways<\/a>,\u00a0United Airlines<\/a>,\u00a0Saudia<\/a>,\u00a0EgyptAir<\/a>,\u00a0Icelandair<\/a>,\u00a0Qantas Airways<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Lufthansa<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Runway Girl Network,\u00a0Panasonic Avionics<\/a>\u00a0VP of product development Andy Masson stated: “This system is 30% lighter than eX3, per seat [and that] includes the seat box, the harness to the monitor itself, and then the monitor itself”.<\/p>\n

Astrova also shines in modularity. Mr Masson highlights how Astrova’s removable peripheral bar allows fast swapping to enable new standards “that may change or evolve over time”.<\/p>\n

Astrova’s latest application, ‘MAYA’, sees\u00a0Panasonic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Collins Aerospace<\/a>\u00a0embed a curved screen into a Collins suite while offering a host of advanced features.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0Panasonic<\/a>\u00a0has been focusing on hardware innovation, fellow IFE peers are concentrating on what the cloud enables.<\/p>\n

Safran<\/a>‘s new RAVE Cloud is expected to drastically decrease the time needed to update IFE content.\u00a0Thales<\/a>\u00a0unveiled FlytEDGE, with major new benefits such as instant streaming of content from subscription platforms.<\/p>\n

Percentage share of IFE manufacturer for global in-service passenger widebodies (grey denotes lack of IFE), 2015-2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0Aircraft Interiors Database.<\/p>\n

Another trend that has been reinforced at\u00a0AIX<\/span>\u00a02024<\/span><\/span>\u00a0is the rise of LEO and multi-orbit IFC strategies. This topic has been extensively covered in previous\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0interiors development summaries.<\/p>\n

Major signings included\u00a0Qatar Airways<\/a>‘ Starlink deal and\u00a0Japan Airlines<\/a>\u00a0becoming the latest\u00a0Intelsat<\/a>\u00a0ESA customer.\u00a0Panasonic<\/a>\u00a0is also attempting a breakthrough in the space, expecting its multi-orbit solution to soon be added as a\u00a0Boeing<\/a>\u00a0linefit option.<\/p>\n

AIX<\/span>\u00a02024<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Highlight 2 – New Narrowbody Standards<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Looking at narrowbodies delivered over the past 10 years, two Collins platforms dominate.<\/p>\n

In the first place is the Pinnacle seat, followed closely by its successor,\u00a0Meridian<\/a>. It is sensible to believe that Helix will follow the pathway of its Collins siblings.<\/p>\n

Percentage share of economy class seat model on in-service passenger narrowbodies delivered over the past decade<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0CAPA – Centre for Aviation<\/a>\u00a0Aircraft Interiors Database.<\/p>\n

The biggest selling point of the seat? Weight.<\/p>\n

When introduced in the late 2000’s, the Pinnacle platform was described as weighing 12kg.\u00a0Meridian<\/a>\u00a0brought this down to 9kg when it debuted in 2015. This time, Helix can shave a further 0.5kg, to bring the figure down to 8.5kg.<\/p>\n

Collins also made inroads in seat structure to ensure ample legroom, even when installed with a narrower seat pitch. On a related note, Helix is expected to enable the next generation of Collins device holders, this time supporting landscape mode.<\/p>\n

Another lightweight seat grabbing headline at AIX was the new\u00a0Air France<\/a>\u00a0Embraer<\/a>\u00a0E190\u00a0Expliseat<\/a>\u00a0TiSeat 2 X seats.<\/p>\n

The new seat impresses in many ways, including an industry-leading lightweight design, alongside various thoughtfully developed features. Also interesting was\u00a0Air France<\/a>‘s decision to stick to a USB-only solution.<\/p>\n

While the new E190 seats aren’t the first at\u00a0Air France<\/a>\u00a0to only feature USB ports, coupled with other news from the continent, it does seem to suggest a bigger trend at play.<\/p>\n

In May-2024, when\u00a0British Airways<\/a>\u00a0put into service its first aircraft featuring new narrowbody seat products, one major difference was the decision to forego AC power sockets and go with USB-A\/C only.<\/p>\n

Croatia Airlines<\/a>\u00a0also opted to install only USB-A\/C when it unveiled interiors for its upcoming A220s.\u00a0KLM<\/a>\u00a0has already announced that its upcoming A320neo family aircraft will feature only USB ports.<\/p>\n

This approach differs materially from that of airlines ‘across the pond’. A vast majority of the biggest\u00a0US<\/a>\u00a0airlines, with\u00a0Southwest Airlines<\/a>\u00a0a notable exception, offer both USB and AC options. It is so far undecided whether geographical interiors differences will diverge – ‘\u00e0 la Eurobusiness’.<\/p>\n

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Other latest global interior news<\/strong><\/h2>\n

OEMs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At AIX\u00a0Collins Aerospace<\/a>\u00a0announced its new ‘Helix’ platform. This is a seat that is destined to succeed even before its entry into service.<\/p>\n

This has driven the wide success of the\u00a0Panasonic<\/a>\u00a0Astrova systems at AIX.<\/p>\n