The Crystal Cabin Awards Association announced the winners of its award categories tonight in Hamburg, with a jury of 28 industry experts choosing seven innovative products from a highly varied field of nearly 80 entries.
The winning entries represent a vision of air travel that’s more connected, more comfortable and more sustainable than ever before. “This year’s submissions included many outstanding innovations that set new standards for the passenger experience,” commented Lukas Kaestner, President of the Crystal Cabin Awards Association.
“It’s especially exciting that some of these stunning products will be flying very soon, while others offer a more tentative vision of air travel in the future. It’s been amazing to see the passion and commitment of the industry to offer a new level of service for passengers, crews and airlines. The award has again shown its potential as a strong indicator of both technology trends and emerging passenger needs, cementing its valuable function in the wider aviation industry. We’re already looking forward to hosting the event in Hamburg again next year.”
The winning entries
The winning entry in the Cabin Concepts category, Skynest by Air New Zealand provides a new option for economy passengers: lie-in bunks for up to four hours of rest and relaxation for the airline’s longest flights. The pods include a full-size pillow, sheets and blanket, ear plugs, a separate reading light, personal device USB outlet, ventilation outlet and lighting designed for rest. The solution will be available from 2024 on Air New Zealand’s ultra-long haul routes to North America, including Chicago and New York.
Winner of the Cabin Systems, Materials and Components category was the Thales Avionics “Onboard Data Center”. The solution introduces an IT architecture to commercial passenger aircraft that uses a system of “blades” sharing storage and computing capabilities. The Crystal Cabin Awards jury were impressed by the prospect of using web-based technologies in the air that are already in widespread use on the ground, as they offer up to ten times the capacity of existing IFE servers.
The winner of the Health & Safety category was Teledyne Controls “ACES” cabin air quality monitoring system. Teledyne Systems won the 2023 award for a product that allows operators to monitor air quality in the cabin more effectively than ever before, with benefits for passenger safety and wellbeing. ACES monitors several parameters in real-time and relays the data directly to ground stations.
In the Passenger Comfort category, Collins Aerospace won the award with its “Intelisence” product. Intelisence capitalises on developments in artificial intelligence to leverage data gleaned from cameras and sensors to predict passengers’ ideal travel experience. A key aspect that motivated the jury to single out Intelisence was the multi-faceted potential benefits of the system. Anticipating the needs of the customer before they reach for the call button could let airlines provide a more seamless service. Yet the data generated could also allow operators to plan resources more effectively, reducing waste and increasing efficiency.
Winner of the IFEC and Digital Services was AirFi coop. Iridium LEO Connectivity Solution. The LEO Connectivity Solution by AirFi and its cooperation partner Iridium proved a compelling proposition for the jury of industry experts. The solution connects to the Iridium Certus system using a pen-sized antenna housed in the window frame that costs substantially less than typical broadband antenna solutions.
When it comes to the winner of the Sustainable Cabin, Lantal Textiles won the award for its “Deep Dyed Carpet”. Lower environmental impact is fast becoming a new benchmark for the aircraft interiors industry, reflected in the introduction of the Sustainable Cabin category in 2022. The Deep Dyed Carpet by Lantal Textiles shows potential to improve the ecological footprint of aircraft cabins in multiple ways, saving not only 60% of water and 80% of waste during production but also aircraft weight and thus CO2 emissions. At the same time, this ultra-lightweight carpet is visually customisable to the customer’s needs.
The winner of the University category this year was Technical University of Delft with its “Lightweight Aircraft Seating” solution. 3D-printed using sustainable fibres, this lightweight seat cushion reduces the amount of material needed while supporting the passenger’s body in an optimal way and at the same time reducing the weight of each seat and the aircraft overall.
The 2023 edition of the Crystal Cabin Award featured a new trophy manufactured by by Institut für Polymer- und Produktionstechnologien (IPT) in a highly innovative process using recycled materials. The polymer-based processes and materials used to make the award will soon be used for a new generation of sustainable cabin components, helping to reduce emissions from the aircraft cabin industry.
