Is floating airplane furniture the future of air travel? That’s one of the concepts recently shown at this year’s Crystal Cabin Awards.
The awards highlight creativity and innovation in aircraft interiors. Winners were announced in Hamburg, Germany at the 2022 Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX).
Lukas Kaestner, president of the Crystal Cabin Award Association explains the process of choosing recipients to CNN Travel.
Related: These Airplane Interiors Of The Future Will Bring Comfort & Luxury Back To Commercial Flights
How winners are chosen
Industry experts thoroughly interrogate each submission for a day. Submissions are rated on creativity, originality, and reactions from airlines and potential travelers.
Many submissions are purely concepts and are not available on the market. Judges decide if a concept is realistic before making a decision.
From the extensive shortlist, there were 24 finalists. Of the 24 finalists, 8 winners were chosen. One of the winners is Teague and NORDAM’s Elevate cabin design. This design concept is a premium cabin with floating seats.
Floating seats on an airplane?
The Teague team tells CNN Travel that the idea behind their floating seat concept is to create more space in the cabin. Furniture would be attached to a track that is connected to the sidewall and aisle.
The idea came about three years ago when airplane designers and engineers were discussing how to create more space in airplane cabins without losing seats.
Winners of the Crystal Cabin Awards 2022
Winner Cabin Concepts: Teague and NORDAM “Elevate”
Winner Cabin Systems: Caeli Nova “Cordillera”
Winner Health and Safety: Safran Cabin “Fire Resistant Cargo Container”
Winner Passenger Comfort: Collins Aerospace “SpaceChiller”
Winner IFEC & Digtal Services: Anuvu coop. Southwest Airlines “Dedicated Space”
Winner Material & Components: Thales Avionics “Pulse”
Winner Sustainable Cabin: Diab “100% Recyclable Panels for Cabin Interiors”
Winner University: Ken Kirtland “Portal”
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