Check out these potential airplane cabins of the future
The designs feature stylish lounges, two-level suites with beds, and more.
Imagine curling up in cocoon-like chairs or relaxing in a multi-level suite while traveling through the air.
These are some of the concepts submitted for this year’s Crystal Cabin Awards, “a creative playfield where designers, engineers and visionaries come together to plan the future of the aircraft passenger experience,” according to a press release.
The Crystal Cabin Awards will take place at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Germany in June. Organizers recently released the 2022 shortlist, all notable for “accelerated innovation towards sustainability, digitalisation and flexibility,” according to the release.
Ahead are some of the designs.
NeXtGC by the German Aerospace Center was inspired by traditional train compartment seating, according to the release.
The modular concept’s six-passenger area can be converted into a group compartment or sleeping area, and passengers stow belongings below the seats rather than above, which saves time boarding and deboarding.
“Additionally, during pandemic or post-pandemic times, the concept offers a new solution for the growing need for distance, hygiene, privacy and an increased group travel experience,” according to the designers.
Elevate, created by Teague and Nordam, features a “floating furniture” strategy, according to the release.
Designed for Finnair’s business class, this concept forgoes the typical floor-mounted seat tracks, instead securing furniture by suspending it from the walls and aisles. As a result, the “home-like cabin” offers guests more space, privacy, and comfort, according to the designers.
Explorer, by Lufthansa Technik AG in cooperation with Diehl Aerospace GmbH, is a multifunctional lounge which features large-scale virtual content in a private jet using an internal projector system, according to the designers. Trips and excursions are displayed across the ceiling and the cabin walls.
“The passengers can switch between an endless number of themed worlds with the tip of a finger, from underwater worlds and moving skies, to night club feeling or architecture and art,” according to the release.
AirSleeper by Mmillenniumm is a two-level suite with seats that convert into flat beds. The suite includes space both at seat level and above the customer’s head and offers privacy, a clean air supply, and a multi-surface work top, according to the designers.
Travelers can curl up in seats with a “cocoon-like feel,” in AirLounge, created by Collins Aerospace in cooperation with PriestmanGoode and Tangerine.
The seat, which does not recline like traditional airline seats, has a soft inner shape that offers comfort, noise reduction, and privacy, according to its designers.
In Shift Cabin Interior, designed Jiayi Yu, a student from the University of Reutlingen, seats can be configured in multiple positions to accommodate both work and relaxation.
“In the business class design of traditional cabins, large seats take up a lot of space,” Yu wrote about the concept. “In my concept, I try to design a new swivel seat. With this new seat, more seats can be arranged in the same space.”
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