For the next few days the Aircraft Interior Expo, commonly known just as AIX, is taking place in Hamburg. The show combines everything from aircraft materials to seats, screens, and OEMs, with some very innovative ideas on display.
With hundreds of stands at the show, it wasn't possible to see everything, though here are a few cool things the Simple Flying team saw on display (in no particular order).
5 Finnair's new seat
Finnish flag carrier Finnair launched its new Airbus A330 and Airbus A350 business class seat a few months back. The seat is pretty innovative in that it doesn't feature a recline feature. This initially had the Simple Flying team scratching our heads, wondering how comfortable the seat would really be.
While the seat has now been flying for a couple of months, the team got our first taste of it at the show. Simple Flying tested out the Airbus A330 version. Overall it was far more comfortable than expected, and we'd be happy sitting in it on a short hop to London or a transcontinental flight.
Keep your eyes peeled: The Simple Flying team will cover this and more stories from AIX in more detail over the coming days.
4 Recaro reinvents the tray table
Seat manufacturer Recaro hinted at a new tray table design that it is working on. Rather than folding out from the seat in front, the design sees a different tray design being given out to passengers to plug-in depending on the use required.
We thought that the design was quite cool and makes sense for many reasons, though some cons still need to be addressed with the concept. The consensus of Simple Flying readers in response to our coverage of the idea was generally negative.
3 Sustainability is about more than engine emissions
Sustainability is a hot topic across the aviation industry and, as such, is a central theme at this year's show. However, sustainability is about much more than just the emissions that leave an aircraft's engine when jet fuel is burned.
Simple Flying bumped into ELeather, a British company seeking to turn waste leather into a product that can be sold to airlines and other interested parties. ELeather lists American Airlines, Delta, easyJet, KLM, and Southwest as some of its airline clients. The company has recycled 7996 tonnes of leather since 2011, and it claims,
"Using ELeather in aircraft upholstery results in reduced fuel burn on take-off and subsequent savings of up to $10k per annum (per narrow body aircraft compared to traditional leather)."
2 COVID is still a concern
Thankfully, many nations have dropped COVID-19-related travel restrictions, and far more passengers are looking to travel. While this is good for the aviation industry, dropping mask mandates and testing rules make it ever so easy for the virus to creep onto planes.
Predicting that COVID-19 isn't an issue that will go away anytime soon, Pexco Aerospace has created a product called Airshield. Made from three parts, the product is a plug-and-play solution designed to further improve cabin airflow. The idea is that once air is exhaled, it will be directed straight down towards where it is sucked out of the cabin and towards the HEPA filters.
1 Panasonic launches a new IFE screen
One of the big announcements of the day was that tech company Panasonic launched a new in-flight entertainment screen. The screen's OLED technology makes it incredibly slim while offering a vivid array of colors and realistic blacks.
One of the cool things about the screen is how easy it is for airlines to update them once in service. Showing off the display, Andy Masson, Vice President of Product & Portfolio Development, revealed that while the screen currently has USB-C and Bluetooth 5 capabilities, it is possible to easily slide the control and connection panel off and attach a new pannel featuring upgraded technology in its place. This reduces the cost and complication when airlines want to upgrade their IFE offering while allowing the screen to stay in service for longer.
Keep an eye out for more coverage of AIX and its concepts over the coming week. Readers can find all AIX stories here as they're added.
Which of these things is your favorite? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!