Feature: Trolleys
W
hen is an airline trolley not an airline trolley? Well, perhaps the answer is when it has been bought for personal, club or office use!
There was a time when trolleys were simply ugly functional lumps of kit most people – both passengers and crew – wanted as little to do with as possible. But now it seems they are increasingly good looking and useful, and demand for them is moving on. The sky is no longer the limit, trolleys now have some kind of cool retro credentials, can carry designer status or wheel in a bit of fun.
I’ve seen one advertised on ebay as ‘the perfect Father’s Day gift’ and another rolled out in a stylish PR agency release billed as the ‘Friday drinks trolley’ to boost staff morale at the end of a busy week.
Perhaps this is a sign of the times and a reflection of the effort going into the current designs and functionality. Shopping trolleys may end up dumped in rivers but the airline trolley it seems is becoming something of a style icon!
Young German design company Bordbar, for example, has been turning heads with new looks for trolleys. Its two classic designs are
icon in action style
Could the airline trolley really be the world’s next style icon? Possibly not but as Julie Baxter discovered, designers, trend-setters and innovative marketeers have certainly got their eye on them
onboard airberlin planes but are also sold for a wide range of other recreational and business uses and can come accessorised with built-in table football or espresso machines! Company founder Valentin Hartmann says: “Five years ago we started revamping disused airplane trolleys and transforming them into design objects for private use. Private and commercial customers have brought them. In general a private customer is aged 30-40 and is a high earner. Commercially we are also selling them through furniture stores and interior designers. Now working with airberlin sees us
making something of a U-turn and finding our way back into the skies!”
The six-strong design team is full of idealism and love for the beautiful things in life and simply believes trolleys too can, and should be, beautiful. Based in Cologne it has an international distribution network comprising more than 220 trade partners in Germany, Europe, Israel, China, Mexico, Venezuela, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Saudi-Arabia, Canada and the USA.
It also works for Driessen-Zodiac Aerospace and both received design awards last year.
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www.onboardhospitality.com
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