Boeing shares enlightening research on interior concepts. Photo: Boeing.
Written for the Airline Passenger Experience Association
APEX Experience Magazine – Issue 6.2 – March/April 2016
Cabin ceiling projections of stars, clouds and colors; huge curved flat-panel in-flight entertainment (IFE) displays; advanced lighting systems; massive translucent cabin monuments displaying current flight status and moving maps. These are just some of the concepts being worked on by engineers in Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes Product Development group.
“Airlines are telling us that they want to have interiors that have a wow factor, and set their cabin apart from [those of] their competitors,” says Mark Ellis, senior manager, Payloads Product Development. “Boeing is trying to deliver cabin experiences that passengers and airlines will find exciting and yet comfortable at the same time.”
Interior lighting systems have come a long way since the “one color, one brightness” fixtures in early passenger airplanes, with Virgin America’s signature mood lighting opening the industry’s eyes to a full spectrum of possibilities. Boeing’s 787 advanced the art of cabin design using light and color; a multitude of LED lighting schemes can be programmed in the Dreamliner, enhancing the overall interior design. The 737 and 737 MAX Sky Interior builds on that work, and Boeing’s engineers continue to create new lighting and display technologies.
“Cabin lighting, if done right, can make an airplane interior seem more spacious and welcoming,” says Ellis. “On long flights especially, strategic lighting can go a long way to keeping passengers and airlines happy.”
In fact, passenger satisfaction appears to be directly related to an aircraft’s interior lighting design. At the recent APEX Asia conference, Kent Craver, Boeing’s director of Cabin Experience and Revenue Analysis, described research done by the company soon after Norwegian Air Shuttle took delivery of its new 737NGs equipped with the Sky Interior. Even though the interior lighting was the only difference between the new aircraft and the airline’s older 737s, passengers “strongly preferred” the Sky Interior airplanes by almost two to one. “For the very first time, passenger satisfaction was not affected by load factor,” says Craver.
Boeing recently released a video highlighting many “wow” interior concepts, but it might take some time before these ideas become reality, explains Ellis. “We’re in the advanced stages of some of this research, but not as far for other concepts.” Airlines have seen some of the concepts and are “excited about the next generation of Boeing cabin experiences,” he adds. “Through lighting and technology, we have the goal of making flying more exciting and comfortable. We hope that all of these concepts will be offerable in the near future.”
Read the original story in APEX Experience Magazine – Issue 6.2