I had the pleasure of visiting the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg on 31 March 2009. I though it would be nice to take some time to share some of my highlights from the Expo.

We'll start off with some of the products we are already familiar with and then go on from there.

Note: you may want to hold the Ctrl button when clicking the pictures to load the photos in a new tab as I am not sure if it will automatically open a new window

B/E Aerospace manufactured Cathay Pacific's First Class toilet facilities which feature a classy tap (fawcett??) and sink.

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Here is the relaunched B/E Aerospace seat for Japan Air Lines. Apparently it's more space efficient somehow. The recline is not shown unfortunately but there is an incline of eleven degrees (perhaps reduced to eight inflight. For comparison, Singapore Airlines' SpaceBed has an incline of eight degrees (again, perhaps reduced to five inflight)).

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Marc Newson's wonderful creativity manifested in the B/E Aerospace manufactured Qantas SkyBed. Note the wonderful "design language" confounding any "designer's neurosis" that Newson may or may not have had. It was comfortable but I didn't think much of the massage function despite trying to play with the intensity.

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Not much to say about this one. I think it's Qatar's fully-flat Business Class product manufactured by B/E Aerospace.

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Not many pictures but the product is known anyway. This appears to be United Air Line's new J in what appears to be a sports-car stylised theme. That privacy screen is a bit useless though !

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This is Contour's (part of Premium Aircraft Interiors Group) Aura product. Apparently the best-selling J seat for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. There are more pictures here

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Here is Sicma Aero Seat's Majesty product which some of you may recognise as Emirates' A380 J. There are some differences: no mini bar, I think the armrests are different and the table comes out from under the PTV in front of the pax (no picture I'm afraid!).

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This is the Weber 7811 seat which some may recognise as Singapore Airlines' New Regional Business Class. A very well designed and comfortable seat with features that have obviously been learnt from their New Business Class. One-touch seat->bed and vice versa feature would have been nice (if my memory serves me correctly).

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I'm not sure what product this is but it was made by Weber.

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Voila / hier ist Swiss' New Business Class. Very nice, aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. This was on the Lantal Textiles stand. Lantal make the pneumatic cushioning which allows the passenger to make the seat harder or softer. While I'm sure it actually does work, after playing with the seat for about two minutes and varying the intensity of the softness and firmness, I didn't feel any difference between firm and soft. I did hear the pneumatics clicking which meant something was happenning though if that's any consolation.

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Similarly, here is basically the same product but on the Thomson Aero Seating stand. It's the Vantage (manufactured by Contour in partnership with Thomson). The product is well-known but here's a picture to show the space for one's feet / legs. Thomson has also redesigned the table so that it is still generously-sized but can now swivel 360 degrees (I suspect this is something that was instigated by feedback from the other Thomson-inspired product, EK's A380 J).

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Recaro had a big stand with many premium and economy class products. However the debuted their "Phantom". Unfortunately their stand was very busy but nonetheless here's a view of their cabin lay out plan of sorts. More information available at their News Release.

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This was an interesting concept that caught my eye by Rucker (a German company). It's a First Class concept. Yes, that is a sink (well, the bowl at least) and a mirror. An impressive product but before someone cries "OTT" the company did make it clear that it was a concept. I assume it is to show what they can do and what one could do with the concept's footprint.

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Here is the Solstys by EADS Sogerma. It is similar to Etihad's Business Class product which is called the "Pearl". The Solstys has been selected by THAI Airways for their Airbus A380. First impressions were good. The bed was comfortable to lie in and was quite long. It is a space-efficient product but I was undecided on whether passengers would want the tray table there (even though it is unobtrusive).

Below are some captures from the Solstys brochure.

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Here is one of my personal favourites (and one of those to watch according to FlightGlobal Blogger Runway Girl) - the Cirrus by Sicma Aero Seat and designed in conjunction with James Park Associates (who also designed the Singapore Airlines SkySuite, New First Class and New Business Class). A sufficiently wide product which was comfortable to lie and sit in. You will note the space for a mini-bar (not refrigerated) and the convenient positioning of the various connectivity ports and IFE controller. If I remember correctly, the maximum size of the PTV is 15.4" which is more or less standard nowadays. The table is very large and more importantly, it swivels allowing one to leave the seat during a meal service. It is indeed a very impressive product. I can also reveal that it has been chosen by US Airways and a carrier in the Far East. Some people at Singapore Airlines will be pausing for thought - oh dear.

Below are two videos. One shows that the triangle thing can be lowered to create more elbow room in bed mode. The second shows me slightly struggling with the table while filming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T4_UfktbCo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl2VsrFpayA

[Sorry, for some reason I am not allowed to embed the videos]

And below are some selected images from the Cirrus brochure:

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What is this?

Well Sicma Aero Seat was one of the companies working on the Singapore Airlines Suites. Obviously they have used that knowledge and have created this: MYAH which stands for Make Yourself At Home. Note the good privacy and the storage space (though I'm not sure if that is large enough for some passengers). That is a real bed. Unlike the Singapore Airlines Suites, this bed does not have to be deployed. If I recall, the bed is 26cm wide. I can't remember how long but it was sufficient. Also in the last picture you will see that the bed for the seat/bed/cabin behind is actually lower and part of the bed lays below the bed in front. In addition, that is the maximum the seat can recline. I have to add that the Sicma representative was kind enough not to laugh too much as I bumped my head hard against the bulkhead when trying the bed! Alas, I have no brochure for MYAH and no pictures of the table.

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I end with the following because I think it sets a new standard in passenger comfort.





This was my first time experiencing the Thomson Cozy Suite. It has been chosen by Delta Air Lines for some of their aircraft. I am quite sure that the pitch you see there is 31" and the seat width is 17.9". However, the seat seemed much more spacious akin to a 19" wide seat (such as Singapore Airlines' New Economy Class) and the legroom was definitely generous. It's a fixed-shell design and it DOES RECLINE (contrary to some perceptions). There is a bar underneath the seat cushion which allows the passenger to recline in the same fashion as the JAL Premium Economy seat does. Further, the seat pan is automatically recessed into the seat which eases greatly movement for the middle and window seat passengers making it a more pleasant experience for all.

The seat has passed certification with more than flying colours and can also house the IFE which I think negates the need for even a slimline IFE box.

At 11-abreast on an A380. the Thomson Cozy Suite allows airlines to pack more people in (and earn more revenue) while, in my opinion, improving passenger comfort to those travelling Economy Class compared to existing products. It is an excellent product that I am confident will please in terms of spaciousness and comfort, not to mention innovation. Any airline that takes this product in its most basic form is taking a step in the right direction in my opinion.

Thank you for reading.