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Designing Future Premium Aircraft Seating Interiors…... and the implications for

IFE

Rob SempleBusiness Unit Director

Contour Premium Aircraft Seating

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Contents

• The Premium seat market background

• Today’s market - Air Canada Solar Eclipse case study– Design brief and programme attributes– Seat design process– Working differently

• IFE issues and implications

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• Contour produces innovative and creative seating products targeted at the First and Business Class markets

– 1st Lie-flat bed in the sky (British Airways first class)….. Introduced 1997

– 1st commercial swivel seat (American Airlines first class)

– 1st lie flat at an angle business class (Cathay Pacific business class)

– 1st full lie flat business class (British Airways)

– Virgin Upper Class Suite

– Emirates Super First Class mini suites

• Seats are complex electro-mechanical devices with typically 600 to 1,300 part numbers per seat

• 60% to 70% of Contour business is retrofit• Seats sell for £10k to £120k ea; with non-recurring of £0.5m to £10m• Seats are typically installed for a 5 to 7 year life• There are many new “2nd Generation” seat programmes underway

The Premium Seating Business

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What our customers want... • Premium passengers buy based on schedule, price, and…. increasingly on the customer experience:

– Cabin service– Seat/suite – Cabin “ease of use” (IFE, lavatories, stowages etc)

• Airlines want a tailored premium product to differentiate; modern, their style, their brand, their environment

• Other prominent factors include passenger density and product weight

• Seats are becoming more complicated but lead-time is rapidly becoming a key factor….

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Air Canada Solar Eclipse – case study

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Solar Eclipse overall design brief• Comfortable full flat bed and comfortable seat

• Personal space (not shared) & personal stowage within suite

• Seat to sleep mode without getting up to convert

• Privacy for working, sleeping & relaxing

• Ease of delivery of the In-Flight service while maintaining the current crew complement & trolley service

• Larger aisle to facilitate boarding and service

• High reliability and ease of maintenance (minimum no of moving parts)

• Ease of grooming

• Practical finish (integrating rub strips within styling)

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Other key Solar Eclipse programme attributes

• Required from concept to delivery in an industry leading 14 months….

• Integrated cabin solution required – seat/suite and all cabin monuments

• Absolute and total secrecy required

• Tremendous personal investment by Airline Chairman and CEO

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Solar Eclipse bespoke seat design process

ENGINEERING

DETAIL

MAKE

BUILD

Design Freeze/Working Prototype (CDR)

Deliver

Certification data (& FAI)

3D CAD Surface data (PDR)

0 2 6 8 11 13 14 Months

IFE data & definition

CONCEPT

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TEST

IFE hardware delivery

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Solar Eclipse- “working differently”• Partnership Working

– 3 dedicated strong advocates in Customer: Engineering, Product & Maintenance– Direct line to CEO, and active positive support of Board members & Chairman

• Integrated Contour team– Industrial design, Engineering, Certification, Production, Procurement, Project

Management

• Early hardware and prototyping– 4 concept and styling mock-ups built– Design “buy off” completed with working mock-up with 75% production standard

parts– Supported taking Engineering design to next level

• Significant Ergonomic and comfort testing• Early supplier involvement to influence design• Proactive Customer led involvement of Canadian Certification authorities• Flow line concept for production assembly

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IFE issues and implications… from a seat suppliers perspective

• IFE suppliers support of the creative phase of seat design is generally poor….

• IFE lead-times just do not currently support where the seat market is going

• Our joint customers find you unresponsive to customisation

• Flow line seat production means IFE must work.. 1st time…• There is significant potential optimisation to be done……

e.g. seat motor power, maintenance features, wireless

IFE is integral to premium seat design.… and will get more so

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Summary• The tailored premium aircraft seat business is vibrant,

– maximum density, minimum weight and dramatically reduced lead-times are demanded

• Second generation seats which take the design to the “next level” are now emerging; – these balance passenger requirements of comfort and

privacy with operational and maintenance requirements

• Significant parallel work and true partnership working in development is now normal

• IFE suppliers are not currently fully engaged in premium seat design; there is a tremendous potential opportunity and prize for our mutual Customers….