Feature: Trolleys
Top drawer
The bête noire of the airline industry has had a facelift and promises to become our new best friend. Jo Austin does a cartwheel
horse loathed by those who have to wield them up and down the aisles. They have to go through an average of 4000 very hot machine washes in their lifetime, and are expected to keep food and drink at a precise temperature whilst helping crew to sell their wares. Trolleys have been the dinosaur of our industry. Nothing has changed for forty years. That is, it appears, until now. After months and years of detailed research
L
into hi-tech, lightweight materials, mobility technology, point of sale security and mobile marketing, the industry is seeing a revolutionary new range of intelligent trolleys that are about to adorn an aisle near you.
In the air Driessen’s technical team has spent two years on its latest trolley project designed to meet Airbus requirements and launched at ITCA Nice this year. Result: the new Hybrite. But how do you re-invent a trolley? Michiel Maris, sales and marketing director at Driessen, told OnBoard Hospitality how he has been working closely with air crew to come up with the perfect answer. “We found that crew
et’s face it, they are ugly, cumbersome, and are constantly getting lost all around the world. They are a necessary work
hold the trolley on its sides as the handle can be too cold. They wanted rounded, softer corners to minimise accidents and to help avoid bumping into seats and passengers. Above all they had to be easily manoeuverable and light in weight.” The Hybrite is made from a new synthetic aluminium and composite material with a light- weight wheelbase. It is easily repairable and rotable, saving down-time and maintenance costs. The new ‘family’ of Driessen trolleys have interchangeable parts and weigh under 18 kilos. The panels can be easily replaced with promotional designs to help promote onboard sales. Production of Driessen’s new range is in Thailand
from where our roaming reporter, Jeremy Clark, will report back in a future issue. Says Joshua Chang of Diethelm Keller Aviation
in Singapore: ”Since joining the company in 2006 I have been working on lightweight. It is expensive to be lighter but our clients, Swiss and Jet Airways, both made the investment back in the ‘90s. Our all-aluminium Ecolite® trolley was bought in its 1000’s by Swiss, LAN, Eva and Air New Zealand during the crisis in 2009, realising the savings to be made. Ecolite® is now registered and protected
Main: Norduyn’s award-winning Quantum trolley; right, the new Hybrite trolley from Dreissen
www.onboardhospitality.com 17
under the trade mark law, which demonstrates the value we put into the name which reflect both lightweight and eco-friendly. “The trolley still needs to be able to carry as
much as possible while keeping food warm or cold. While lightweight, the trolleys need to be strong and new materials have enabled us to do just that.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76