Take a look at 4 airline cabin concepts aiming to revolutionize air travel including a bunk-style bed in economy and a minibar in business class
The 2023 Crystal Cabin Awards has announced 21 finalists for its annual recognition of cabin innovation.
Of the finalists, four standouts have built new concepts focused on passenger and crew comfort.
These include a bunk-style economy "Skynest" and heated business class seats.
The Crystal Cabin Awards is an annual ceremony recognizing innovative aircraft interior concepts. These can include everything from more spacious seats to a fire-resistant cargo container.
Designs are judged across several categories that focus on things like passenger comfort, sustainability, and health and safety.
One of the more interesting topics for customers is improvements to the seats themselves.
Last year's "cabin concepts" winner created a narrowbody business cabin using "floating furniture" attached to the fuselage walls. The goal is to give the seat a "freer" and "more immersive" feel.
This year, the Crystal Cabin Awards has announced 21 total finalists across all categories and the winners will be announced on June 6.
Out of the finalists, four standouts reimagine passenger and crew comfort with new and unique seat designs — take a look.
Likely to not much surprise, Air New Zealand's one-of-a-kind "Skynest" is a frontrunner in the "cabin concepts" category.
Announced in June 2022, the design is a set of six bunk beds in economy class to give travelers more lie-flat sleep options.
The "Skynest" will be introduced on ANZ's Boeing 787 jets by September 2024 and will complement the carrier's fan-favorite "Skycouch," which is a row of three economy seats that converts into a bed.
Also impressing judges is Lufthansa's new long-haul passenger experience called "Allegris."
The product line will allow customers to choose from 14 different seat types across all four travel classes — economy, premium economy, business, and first.
Source: Allegris
Each seat will focus on a different personal preference, like sleep, work, enjoyment, and entertainment.
Source: Allegris
Lufthansa said there will be options like double suites. Moreover, unique perks like in-seat heating and cooling will also be featured.
Source: Allegris
While it sounds complicated, Lufthansa maintains the booking process will be understandable thanks to the seating plans available to customers.
Source: Crystal Cabin Awards
The new business class seats will debut by the end of this year, while the new first class suites will be introduced on Airbus A350-900 aircraft in early 2024.
Source: Executive Traveller
The third finalist in the "cabin concepts" category tackles the crew rest area on single-aisle jets.
Over the past few years, many US and European airlines have started flying narrowbody planes — mostly the Airbus A321neoLR and the Boeing 737 MAX — across the Atlantic.
This transition from predominantly widebody planes on long-haul routes comes as manufacturers drastically improve narrowbody fuel efficiency and engine reliability.
Source: Insider
Now that these planes make financial sense, airlines see the benefit of using the lower-capacity jets — especially flying low-demand routes.
Source: Business Traveler
However, the industry has run into a problem — there isn't much space for a separate crew rest area.
These pod-style rooms are used for crew members on long-haul flights and are normally located above the cabin on widebody planes.
On narrowbodies, this isn't realistic. Instead, airlines opt to reserve passenger seats for the crew — like JetBlue blocking off the last seat in Mint business class on its A321neoLR.
While JetBlue added a curtain, some crew don't have this much privacy. One fix is Diehl Aviation's crew rest compartment design that uses the space between the first row and the door.
According to Diehl, the module with foldable beds is multi-purpose as it can also be used as a medical compartment or a booking option for customers.
The fourth design finalist, which is under the "passenger comfort" category, is the "Ascent Front Row Seat" created by Adient Aerospace and Boeing Encore Interiors.
The design removes the overhead bin to create a huge living space for travelers, including a companion seat, a library, and even a minibar.
Read the original article on Business Insider