It’s what’s inside that counts!

AMAugust18Features - Acumen1
AMAugust18Features - Acumen1

Today’s premium passengers now expect their flying experience to be more like a luxury hotel than that of an aircraft. Acumen Design Associates’ brand development manager and CMF specialist, Catherine Barber reveals how the company gets blue-sky designs off the page and into the air.

Throughout the past twenty years Acumen has taken a lead role in creating new benchmarks in innovation for the aviation sector through the introduction of patented, ground-breaking ideas which challenge the paradigm.

The company has completed many airline programmes making it the agency of choice for the world’s leading carriers. Acumen’s major innovations include the world’s first flat bed for British Airways in 1996 and the world’s first three-room VIP suite for Etihad Airways.

Q) What is driving the aircraft interior trends and demands placed on your company by today’s customers?

Trends in aircraft interior design are constantly evolving and to succeed in the industry you have to adapt quickly. Recently, space efficiency has been at the heart of demands from both passengers and airlines. The challenge for business class is to create a cabin which feels premium and expansive without negatively impacting the PAX count - especially for airlines who want to fly a high-density product. As the growth of single-aisle, long haul takes hold, the challenge for many designers will be incorporating lay-flat products capable of offering aisle-access to every passenger.

Passengers also now expect the flying experience to be more akin to a luxury hotel than that of an aircraft, with personalised touches and the freedom to use space in many different ways. Every passenger touch point in the cabin has the potential to improve the experience and many airlines recognise this now.

Q) What specific areas of the interior are you involved with?

Catherine Barber, Acumen Design Associates’ brand development manager and CMF Specialist

Whilst the brief for every project is different, we’re regularly responsible for all aspects of the cabin interior design – especially when implementing our own original ideas. For example, when designing the First Apartments for Etihad’s A380 fleet, we completely redesigned the cabin architecture – switching the standard twin aisle configuration to a single aisle – creating 90” wide suites that were more like rooms with separate seats, sofas and beds, vanity units, and 64” high privacy doors; forcing a complete redesign of the cabin linings to create a vaulted ceiling. This was the most customised interior in the history of commercial aviation.

Whilst some of our early work was focused on developing ground-breaking seating and cabin layouts – in part due to the global success of our ‘Bed in the Sky’ design for British Airways in the mid-nineties – we now work with the world’s leading airlines and a host of innovative suppliers to create striking new visions for the entire cabin.

Q) What kinds of hurdles do you need to overcome in order to design products taking them from concept to reality?

There are three main challenges to getting any blue-sky design off the page and into the air. The first is the crowded intellectual property (IP) market; navigating the minefield of IP is a challenge for any designer looking to revolutionise the industry. Acumen has a unique heritage in creating and protecting its own IP. We currently have more than 20 aviation patents to our name, many of which are flying today – including the original cabin layout for Polaris, United Airlines’ critically-acclaimed business class product.

Secondly, there is the rigorous certification process which quickly weeds out designs that aren’t feasible. There’s a big difference between creating a concept and delivering a revolutionary product capable of passing certification tests whilst also remaining financially viable for an airline. When trying to create something new – as we did with the first lay-flat bed aboard a commercial aircraft for British Airways – this process is even more difficult as there are no references for regulators to benchmark the product against.

Thirdly, designers need to have close relationships with all the key parties involved in a project. This is vital as, once you have those, everyone can buy into the original vision for the project and work together from the outset to achieve it. A joined-up approach whereby designers are the central link between an airline, external manufacturers, regulators, airframers and most importantly passengers, allows for an effective flow of innovation - ensuring creative ideas actually make it into the sky. It was crucial to the success of our design for Etihad’s ‘The Residence’ – where we were a part of the Etihad Design Consortium (EDC) – and enabled us to get clearance to make a previously unused part of the aircraft profitable.

Q) What are today's customers/interior design engineers looking for in terms of performance solutions?

Acumen played a key part in the Etihad Design Consortium which was crucial to the success of its design for ‘The Residence’

The airline departments which commission us are often from the marketing and customer service divisions, whereby the brief is focused on providing the ultimate passenger offering and working back from there, making compromises only if absolutely necessary.

In short, a unique passenger experience is always the ambition. We aspire for our designs to push the boundaries of what is achievable in the cabin and take this experience to new levels – whether that is longer beds, more space and privacy or the incorporation of new materials or technologies.

Weight is always a consideration, but at the same time there is currently a trend which is seeing more features added into the cabin. Elements, such as doors on business class suites, larger IFE screens, increased stowage options and bigger tables – which all have an impact.

Building-in ease of maintenance is most definitely an important consideration, but one that rarely affects the overall vision or functionality of a design. It’s our job as designers to find smart solutions to ensure the product works in service.

Q) How important is it to create the right balance of lighting and colours so that passengers feel like they’re ‘flying in their home’?

We aim to create a hospitality experience for passengers – as opposed to a transportation one. The colour scheme, lighting, materials and finishes used in the cabin all combine to create an ambience – taking inspiration from top-end hotels, restaurants and residential locations.

When it comes to designing seats and monuments, we want passengers to feel at home and the designs reflect that, focusing on an effective use of space and improving perceptions of privacy - providing passengers with an environment they can both relax and work in. For example, lightweight translucent panelling can be used in the cabin to create an improved sense of privacy without blocking ambient light.

Q) Typically, how much time and effort goes into the conceptual design and prototyping of an aircraft interiors project?

An enormous amount of time and effort goes into every tiny detail of a cabin interior before it even makes it into the air – not just from designers but everyone involved in the entire product development cycle.

Some airlines come to us with a specific brief and a rough vision of the interior they are looking to create and the timescales they have to do so. On average, most full design programmes run across 12-18 months as airlines try and get ahead of the curve by investing in new designs that will meet the future needs of its passengers.

However, when we’re looking to bring our original designs to fruition the process can take much longer. As an example, our CEO and founder, Ian Dryburgh came up with the innovative ‘herringline’ layout on a train home from London. As a team we then fleshed out his initial sketches and once we realised the potential in the design, we began the process of protecting it.

This was soon followed by a pitch to senior United Airlines executives, which in turn led to months of fine tuning the design and developing full-scale prototypes and mock-ups – creating the product now known as Polaris. In-depth sleep trials and passenger surveys were conducted at Boeing’s facility in Seattle before the product was officially launched in summer 2016 at Gotham Hall in New York. In total, this process took upwards of two years to complete.

Q) What kinds of aircraft interior developments will we be seeing in the future?

Acumen has many patents to its name including the original cabin layout for Polaris, United Airlines’ business class product Image © United Airlines

Passengers want an experience tailored to their individual needs and we may begin to see cabin and seat designs which reflect that – featuring personalised IFE displays, clever uses of modular interior lighting and even augmented reality systems. Already we’re seeing airlines, such as Emirates testing virtual windows and we expect more of these innovations to develop as both technology and the needs of the passengers’ change.

Modular cabins that can be swapped out at an airport is an idea that has long been floated about – although logistically it will be a challenge. More likely to happen is the development of segregated cabin zones for working, sleeping, and relaxing. Each interior will be different to reflect the activity and needs of the passengers in that area.

Ultimately, airlines don’t want to continuously refurbish their fleets every couple of years, so any new designs not only need to improve the passenger offering, but also have longevity in the air.

Q) Have we hit the glass ceiling now in terms of ground-breaking and as yet undreamed of conceptual interior designs?

Certainly not – there are always new designs and ideas that drive the aircraft interior industry forward. Acumen has built its reputation on delivering the unthinkable and that’s not going to change.

However, there are certain parts of the aircraft where true innovation is harder to come by – for instance, there’s a feeling that as an industry we’ve reached maximum passenger density in business class. However, new ground-breaking designs are being developed around single-aisle, long haul cabins, whilst we believe premium economy has yet to realise its full potential as a product sector.

What will help drive a new wave of designs is the introduction of new materials and technologies into the cabin – often taking inspiration from outside the aviation industry. Wireless technology, Li-Fi, breakthroughs in LED and OLED lighting and lightweight printed circuitry capable of replacing heavy under-seat cabling could all help transform the aesthetic and functionality of the aircraft cabin.

Q) Finally, what differentiates your company from the competition?

Acumen created the first lay-flat bed aboard a commercial aircraft for British Airways

We’ve grown our business and reputation by consistently creating unique products for airlines and are renowned for having the vision and expertise to bring pioneering designs to life.

When airlines approach us, it’s our track record and professionalism which gives them the confidence to trust us. By partnering with Acumen, they’re not just investing in new product development, but in the future success of their brand.

Acumen’s history in the aviation industry is built around the capability of our designs to elevate brands to new heights – differentiating them from their competitors. In the crowded aviation industry where difficult challenges exist on all fronts, it’s exactly what many airlines need.

www.acumen-da.com

Related Articles

Dawnlough capitalises on the aerospace sector

With just eight employees and one CNC machine, Galway-based Dawnlough started in 1987 as a small toolmaking business servicing the electrical and medical engineering sectors in the west of Ireland. Moving forward 30 years it is now a leading subcontract manufacturer with a focus on the growing aerospace sector within the Republic of Ireland.
6 years ago Features

Lightweight seating at the aerospace table

Composite product developer Cecence has years of experience providing solutions for the transportation sector. Ed Hill hears about a revolutionary lightweight solution for airline passenger seating.
4 years ago Features
Most recent Articles

Carter enjoys success at HAI HELI-EXPO event

Acknowledged as the World’s largest vertical aviation conference and trade show, HAI HELI-EXPO 2024 provided precision bearing specialists Carter Manufacturing a perfect opportunity to exhibit its extensive range of aerospace bearing installation, removal and testing tools, along with PMA bearing options.
1 day ago News

Login / Sign up