The Crystal Cabin Awards’ expert jury has now selected the finalists for 2024, putting forward 25 entries that offer a glimpse into the future of flying.
The Crystal Cabin Award, an initiative of the Hamburg Aviation cluster, is awarded this year in eight categories. The finalists will have the opportunity to present their concepts in person to the jury at Aircraft Interiors Expo, held on 28-30 May 2024 in Hamburg, Germany. The winners will be announced on the evening of 28 May at a gala dinner at the Hamburg Chambers of Commerce.
Cabin Concepts
The concepts selected in the Cabin Concepts category represent excellence in aircraft cabin design.
They include the JAL A350-1000 cabin interior by Tangerine, realised in collaboration with Japan Airlines, Safran Seats and Recaro Aircraft Seating. Blending tradition and modernity, the interior is designed to seamlessly weave Japanese aesthetics with modern flight comfort to create a harmonious space of tranquillity above the clouds.
The BermudAir Aisle Class Suite, by Factorydesign and BermudAir, a novel take on business class, offers a suite that combines privacy and luxurious space with a unique aisle concept. You can read about it in the March 2024 issue of sister magazine Aircraft Interiors International.
Meanwhile the Airspace Cabin Vision 2035+ by Airbus Operations focuses on lightweight construction and circular economy to reduce negative environmental impacts, with the goal of reducing cabin weight by up to 40%. It also includes digitally supported, waste-reducing catering concepts.
Cabin Systems
This category recognises innovations in energy efficiency and spatial flexibility.
GeniusPOWER Core by KID-Systeme is designed to enable constant availability of smart devices above the clouds through intelligent charging options. Each compact power converter can efficiently power up to nine devices.
Meanwhile The Cube by Safran Cabin is a solution for cleanly disposing of food and liquid waste in the galley. The Cube is designed to integrate seamlessly into the overall appearance of a galley and maintain a hygienic workspace for the cabin crew by activating UV light upon closure to eliminate odours and prevent the growth of bacteria.
Finally, Burrana’s RISE Power is an in-seat power supply system offering a low weight of 200g per seat, and fast charging of passengers’ personal devices. It is also designed to enable cost-effective installation without re-certification of the seat.
Health & Safety
This category recognises products designed to enhance safety and accessibility.
Safran Passenger Innovations (SPI), in collaboration with Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic, has designed Accessible IFE, which allows passengers with auditory, visual, cognitive and motor impairments to enjoy onboard entertainment.
The AirPRO by Schroth Safety Products is a passenger lap belt airbag, developed in cooperation with the design studio Teams and DesignBüro Stühmer|Scholz. It combines an integrated airbag with crash sensor technology under the seat, which quickly activates the airbag in the event of an accident, and is designed for adaptability to different cabin designs.
Finally, the Accenture PED safety bag by Accenture is a safety solution for personal electronic devices during flight. It is designed to meet the highest standard for such safety devices, ensuring 100% containment of fire, smoke and toxic gases in case of lithium battery failures.
Passenger Comfort
The wellbeing and comfort of passengers on long- and medium-haul flights is the focus in this category.
The Wellbeing Zone, created by Diehl Aviation in collaboration with Qantas Airways, is an area between the economy and premium-economy classes, designed for flights of up to 22 hours. It offers passengers opportunities to stretch and linger at standing spaces, complemented by a self-service station with contactless water dispensers as well as healthy snacks and drinks.
The Signature Seat by Safran Seats guarantees personal space for each passenger through a patented, fixed pre-set backrest architecture, and is adjustable for different body types. The seat innovation, suitable for both long- and medium-haul flights, aims to improve comfort in economy class while also providing cost-effective solutions for airlines.
The Arise intelligent comfort system by Collins Aerospace is a smart seat comfort mechanism that uses sensor technology and advanced materials to reduce the main disturbances of sleep during flight – body temperature, pressure distribution, and vibration. It automatically adjusts seat position, cushion pressure, and environmental conditions based on real-time data analysis.
IFEC & Digital Services
This category features advanced connectivity and entertainment solutions intended to revolutionise the way passengers interact with digital services on board.
Intelsat’s Multi-Orbit Connectivity is designed to offer improved internet services on board aircraft by combining geostationary satellites and low-Earth orbit satellites to enable faster speeds and lower latencies.
The ADAPT system by Collins Aerospace allows passengers to control their seat, the IFE system, and onboard service using their personal mobile devices, with individual settings being automatically integrated. The platform supports advanced functions such as voice control, American Sign Language gesture recognition, and audio-visual feedback, enhancing accessibility for all users.
FlytEdge, developed by Thales Avionics, is a cloud-based, digital IFE solution that enables the integration of web applications and streaming services, as well as real-time updates of software and content. The platform is intended to simplify airline operations and enhance the passenger experience through ongoing innovations and an open architecture.
Material & Components
Innovative solutions are central to this category, based on advanced manufacturing technologies, sustainable materials, and efficient designs to reduce weight, increase efficiency, and minimise environmental impacts during flight.
STARLight by Collins Aerospace is a structural technology that uses advanced composite designs, robotic manufacturing, and sustainable materials to reduce the weight of aircraft components while also lowering manufacturing costs. This technology is intended to enable airlines to efficiently design their cabin spaces without adding extra weight, and offer enhanced thermal and acoustic insulation properties.
Inspired by the 1,000-year-old art of origami, Unum Aircraft Seating, in collaboration with MGR Foamtex, has developed Door 2.0 – The Zen Privacy Door, a patented foldable design for business-class privacy doors designed to be significantly less complex and therefore lighter and easier to certify.
The ECO Bracket, developed by Diehl Aviation and 9T Labs, is made from recycled thermoplastic production waste and features an advanced manufacturing process to optimise load distribution and mechanical performance. The bracket is designed to enable a significant reduction in weight and production costs by 50%, support the reduction of CO2 emissions, and promote the reuse of resources at the end of the components’ lifecycle.
Sustainable Cabin
The submissions in this category are designed to set new standards in terms of sustainability in aircraft cabins.
The R Sphere by Recaro Aircraft Seating is a seating concept that uses sustainable materials such as cork, wood, recycled fishing nets, and cactus. It is claimed to reduce CO2 emissions by 63 tonnes per aircraft annually and is 100% recyclable at the end of its lifecycle.
The ECO Sidewall by Diehl Aviation is a cabin sidewall concept which, through the use of lightweight materials and advanced technologies, achieves a claimed 10% weight reduction and 10% reduction in CO2 emissions during operation. It integrates environmentally friendly technologies intended to significantly reduce production waste and thus contribute to more sustainable cabin designs.
The Onboard Water Dispenser by Safran Cabin uses the existing water supply of the aircraft and can be installed near the toilets and galleys. It is designed to ensure clean drinking water through UV filter technology, reducing the need for purchasing and disposing of water bottles, optimising stock management, and boosting cabin crew efficiency by making the distribution of bottles and cups unnecessary.
University
In this category, collaborative teams of universities and industry partners present advanced solutions for common problems in aircraft cabins.
In economy-class cabins, limited space often leads to restricted body posture and lack of privacy. Flexifold by Tongji University, in collaboration with Dupont, is an economy-class seat concept designed to provide improved body support through a fold-and-snap mechanism. The seat integrates lightweight and breathable materials in a sandwich structure and offers modular adjustment options for privacy, lying angle, and foot support to enhance comfort in cramped cabin spaces.
The Silentium in Excelsis concept, by the University of São Paulo in cooperation with Embraer, is an aircraft noise-cancelling device. It uses artificial intelligence and is equipped with a camera that directs sound waves specifically at the passengers’ heads to reduce the white noise from aircraft engines. It allows users to work, sleep, or converse without the use of headphones, by locally reducing noise disturbances.
Silvacomfort, also by the University of São Paulo in cooperation with Embraer, is a cabin system that uses sensor technology and artificial intelligence to individually adjust environmental conditions for each passenger, by modifying temperature, lighting, and sound, based on the respective profile of the passenger. The system integrates discreet cameras, sound recording devices, and temperature sensors into the cabin architecture to anticipate needs and adjust the settings of air conditioning, light, and background music accordingly, while data processing occurs centrally to protect privacy.
Finally, the Wheelchair Space and Securement System (WSSS), developed by a student team from Virginia Tech in cooperation with Boeing, All Wheels Up, and Collins Aerospace, allows passengers with limited mobility to sit securely in their own wheelchairs during flight. The system is integrated into the seating configuration of an economy-class cabin and can be flexibly adapted when not in use to minimise revenue losses for airlines.
