AIX Review
Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas 2012
The fourth Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas 2012 in Seattle attracted key airline interiors decision makers from across the Americas region as well as other major air transport markets
They came to see the latest ideas and innovations from more than 150 exhibiting companies drawn from 18 different nations in what was the largest show yet. Despite the tough economic climate which has challenged the aviation industry in recent years the mood at Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas was decidedly upbeat, with a highly popular seminar programme enabling visitors to interact and hear the opinions of leading experts from the operator community, airframers and interiors suppliers.
“Providing passengers with a consistent experience is one of the major challenges facing airlines in these days of consolidation and merger”
Providing passengers with a consistent experience is one of the major challenges facing airlines in these days of consolidation and merger and this message emerged loud and clear from the session featuring Stuart Greif, vp and gm at JD Power and Associates and Melissa Raudebaugh, gm aircraft experience at Delta Air Lines. Melissa Raudebaugh explained that following the merger with Northwest, Delta has over 1300 aeroplanes, with 16 different fleet types and 31 different sub-fleet types. This resulted in receiving a different experience depending on their destination. Recognising this as a highly important issue, Delta is now in the process of aligning its fleet to deliver consistency.
The debate about passenger comfort in Economy has been running for some years and looks set to continue into the foreseeable future as technology advances and passenger expectations increase. Jami Counter, senior director at
Seatguru.com, Jenny Ruegamer,
associate creative director at Teague and Tom Grant, manager inflight cabin services at WestJet all provided their insights into this important subject. A key proposition that was debated is that passenger comfort and satisfaction within Economy cannot be achieved by a `one size fits all` approach; there
platform for demonstrating and displaying cabin innovations and designs. Now we can also offer a valuable opportunity for visitors to listen and interact with industry experts, hearing at first hand their views on what the interiors market – and specifically the cabin environment – will look like in the future”. The Expo provided an ideal platform for exhibitors to introduce original products to the market. Kydex took the opportunity to launch its first fully compliant coloured translucent sheet for the aviation market. KYDEX FST CTL is the first coloured thermoplastic translucent sheet that meets the compliance mandates of the aviation industry. C&D Zodiac, part of Zodiac Aerospace, used the exhibition to showcase ZEO, its groundbreaking design and innovation studio.
needs to be some form of individualisation built into an airline’s strategy. Katie Murphy, Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas event director, said: “The inclusion of a seminar programme in this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas offering was a natural step for us to take. Over the last four years exhibitors have helped us build a high profile
A number of new contracts were announced including EADS Sogerma’s full flat Business seat, Equinox, being offered in the 787 Dreamliner and Zodiac Seats France (formerly Sicma Aero Seat) becoming an official A350 XWB Airbus Contracted Supplier (ACS) for premium seating products through the use of its Cirrus and Arcus systems.
www.aircraftinteriorsexpo-us.com
www.onboardhospitality.com 69
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