Cabin Innovations!
 

Over the last 50 years, the whole concept of flying has barely changed. In an aluminum cigar you are taken from A to B, on seats that are aligned in rows. But without changing the airframe, isn't there anything that can be improved?

So what do you like to see inside the cabin, especially on long haul flights? - Taking into account the limited amount of space that is available.

This is the main question of my graduation project at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. On which I hope you can share some insights with me. - It would help me out a lot!

To give some direction, I have identified four main themes:
1. Physical comfort - Emerge from the plane as newborn
2. Business - Being able to work more efficiently on board
3. Entertainment - Time flies when you are having fun
4. Customization - Personalize your flying experience

I am focusing on Business Class long haul, because this provides more opportunities, namely space and investment per seat, but I am also interested in innovations that suit any other cabin.

Thanks for your cooperation!

1. Physical comfort - More padding on the seat.
2. Business - Internet access, ac power.
3. Entertainment - Bigger t.v screen, more choices of what to watch.
4. Customization - More food, drink, desert choice, etc. Interior colors
that look less like a prison.

I think that longhaul business class has received tons of attention throughout the years and IMO has developed tremedously.

1. Physical comfort: the biz seats have been continuously improved and some are very good. You can't have a giant recliner for practical reasons and some of the lie-flat (or close to it) seats and actually nice. NOTHING compared to economy! (Bear in mind that space and weight are limiting factors.) IMO one of the main reasons for discomfort is the very dry pressurized air, something that is not exactly flexible due to materials used (although the dreamliner is supposed to be better). We'd all like our own giant private compartments that have a desk, giant TV and a bed, but let's face it - not gonna happen!

2. Most longhaul biz seats do have power. Regular plugs are great, anything that requires an adaptor (EmPower) sucks.

3. I do have one suggestion here: a better positioned screen. You know those magnifying mirrors that you can pull out and flip as you please? I'm thinking something like that. One issue is the fact that flat screens are sensible to light and when the sun shines right on your screen it's almost impossible to see. I don't know how this could be addressed... maybe some screen like those thin dark plastic screens you can use for laptops? Otherwise, IFE systems have come a long way. The main issue is reliability. IFE systems don't get enough attention (and are apparently poorly tested). They break way too often and it's never on the airline's priority list. They rush to turn the plane around and don't care all that much about IFE working. I think it's part of the product they sell and the lack of IFE should ALWAYS be compensated. Airlines underestimate their importance.

4. Customization: it's impractical to have too many meals types on board. The plane has limited space and food-related facilities. It's not like they're going to add a kitchen. :) Plane food is... well, plane food. It's prepackaged (often frozen) and reheated. It has to be practical for the catering company, fairly small and CHEAP. No major airline is going to pay $50/meal, not even in their most royal class.

My personal opinion is that economy is the way to go. The "steerage" has been neglected for decades. Yes, airline make a lot of money off premium seats, but MOST of their customers fly in Y. Those new slanted seats that DL is allegedly going to install look VERY promising (I don't have the link but a search on FT should do it). There has to be a better way to take advantage of that [limited] space! More friendly colors probably help. (I for one like NW's A330 fleet - has a nice *new* and pleasant atmosphere.) No crappy grays and light brown, no BRIGHT red either. Airlines just have to care enough to find a solution.

In this day and age, IFE, even in Y, is the way to go. Any flight over 2 hours should have some sort of entertainment, even if it's not free. Give people some choices and make their flight seem shorter. ^

I think many people would like to join the mile high club. How about having a dedicated area that J pax could use - perhaps booked in 20 minute intervals?

What about more space in the toilet? In many toilets I simply cannot imagine starting acrobatics in such small spaces where I alone hardly fit in.
W

Well, in a 747 (and probably other widebodies as well) there is an unused space above the overhead bins of around 1 to 1,5 meters. This is where some airlines have their (8 person) crew rests. Besides this, the space from where the upper deck ends, till the tail is unused and you could fit at least 24 beds in there.

Only problem is that you are not allowed there. Airlines have not been able to certify the space for passengers, because evacuation of these spaces would take too long. Flight crew has had special training and is allowed. But I was quite surprised that these airplanes have so much unused space.

Welcome to Flyer Talk rjtat5 :)

I disagree with your premise. In my opinion, business class long haul has changed markedly in the past 10 or so years.

I too think the focus of any interesting future innovation needs to be in the genpop class. For business class its easy - wider beds more space etc.
Its in genpop that new and bold design might be able to increase comfort while not hurting the bottom line.
e.g. delta's effort:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/0...-airlines.html

I myself have thought a lot about this too. I think business and first class by and large have seen developments, and are not really "problem" areas. The place where there is need for improvement is the coach class.

Unfortunately, things in this area are pretty much pared down to nothing as is. every inch has been utilized, and in many cases over utilized I don't think there is much that you can do right now to improve comfort, convenience, and safety without having to give up on a few areas. But with that in mind, I think that there is huge room for those airlines who would be willing to risk giving a little for reap rewards in the future. LED lighting is a good start - I think lighting can really enhance the cabin atmosphere. I think we have pared seats down a little too far - cuts now directly impact comfort and safety (we will not even get into those new offset seats!). In fact that might be one area of key improvement, Look at the design of high-end office chairs, and I think you might find some very efficient designs with high comfort there. I think that in the MP3 era the time has come to revamp in flight entertainment - why does my IFE for the seatback need this huge box under the seat, when I can store more programs, music, and video on my MP3 player that I can hold in the palm of my hand?

In economy class, have seats designed so that reclining slides the seat bottom forward simultaneously. This might alleviate some of the recline wars, since it adds a cost to the passenger reclining and reduces the cost of the reclining on the passenger behind, rather than having all of the costs of reclining being forced onto the passenger behind.

Other than installing (paid) IFE, at least for US Carriers, I would doubt there will be much improvement to the Y cabin. However, the new 787s are suppose to have higher ceilings and lighting but US carriers decided to jam in one additional seat across than originally planned by Boeing.

In fact, I think that we can look forward to more things like broken armrests and dirty seats going forward.

I didn't have to read all of the other comments to also come to the conclusion that economy class is the one that needs the big idea for improvement. New business and first class cabins are doing quite well.

Having recently traveled transcon in economy on Air Canada, I will say that a good on-demand in-flight entertainment system with many choices is a huge deal. This really makes for a much better experience.

Beyond that, I have no confidence that things will improve. For very long flights, I've often thought about getting rid of the seats entirely and stringing up hammocks 3 or 4 high, like in an old movie showing the crew on a pirate ship.:D@:-)

But as the world gets richer, the airlines will want to tempt more people to part with money to travel in Business. Therefore, it could make sense to keep business as a product that considers comfort whilst trying to make economy as cheap as possible for people who buy according to price alone - but make it pretty uncomfortable, thereby encouraging upgrades.

You could make Y more comfortable by installing couchette type accommodation for long flights like the crew rest areas. Lie flat all the way. I saw a website that showed it to be possible, but it surmised that it would torpedo the market for the J and F fares.

If it's possible, I'm not sure why a company like Virgin, that operates on the bottom line and is prepared to ditch premium classes on domestic routes in some countries (I don't know enough to make a more blanket statement than that!) wouldn't try it.

Come on Richard Branson, give it a go.

I've used seats like this in SQ economy. It has these benefits, as well as feeling as if (I didn't measure) it reclines more than the typical economy seat. Don't know why everyone doesn't use them - does it weigh more? cost more? or is it just inertia on the part of most other airlines? In any case, there's nothing to design here; these seats exist and are in use.