BUY YOUR FLIGHT EXPERIENCE INSTEAD OF YOUR CLASS

We invite you read this report with an open mind, understanding that we approached this with an eye toward possibilities unconstrained by the myriad real-life requirements and challenges that face those developing passenger experience and cabin equipment. These types of exercises force us to think differently and challenge how we view problems and how they can be creatively addressed.

Some airlines are touching on this strategy, like United, with their Polaris First Class option that was designed to deliver on a comfortable sleep experience, or Emirates, who famously offers a luxury hotel-like experience with its premium on-board shower and Bvlgari toiletries. But we argue that it can be taken farther.

What if passengers could choose their experience based on why they’re traveling? What if the flight was seen as an extension of the destination - part of the trip, not just a means to an end?

PRODUCTIVITY CLASS

RELAXATION CLASS

FAMILY

CLASS

In the U.S. alone, more than 42,000 flights carrying 2.5 million passengers are flown within the 29 million square miles of airspace managed by the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO)1. Why are they traveling?  Nearly 3 out of 4 domestic trips taken are for leisure purposes2.

In our concepts, stepping onto the plane is the beginning of the experience, not a just a way to get to an end destination. We decided to brainstorm around passengers’ intentions on how they want to spend their travel time, ultimately thinking about fresh ways to approach three new ‘classes’: Family Class, Relaxation Class and Productivity Class.

FAMILY CLASS

In our ‘Family Class’ concept, the whole family can enjoy a ‘window’ seat. With talk of windowless cabins recently, the question is how to make the cabin feel open while eliminating the view outside.

As we reported in our AIX 2018 Trend Report, companies were showing interesting lighting technologies, like Rockwell Collins’ Secant Luminous Panel LED ceiling lighting display. What if the lighting moved from the ceiling to the walls, creating an immersive mood lighting and branding experience?  Oculus Technologies’ translucent and semi-translucent mirrors also caught our eye at AIX 2018, and we asked then if these might have a place in windowless passenger aircraft. One of their technologies shown at the Expo demonstrated the ability to deliver information and enable interaction on a mirror-like surface. How fun could flying become for a family to watch a movie together on a big ‘screen’ on the cabin wall, or watch the virtual sites below on a wide, window-like ‘opening’.

30% of vacationers do not feel relaxed until the second day (or later) of vacation5.

RELAXATION CLASS

Though there are some exceptions to the rule, typically the flight experience is not one of the more decompressing elements of travel. What if the flight really felt like the first enjoyable part of vacation? What if the seating adjusted to how you really wanted to spend your flight time?

In this concept, we explored innovations in seats which centered around a unique rail system that enabled modularity in the embedded technologies, simple delighter elements and in how the passenger can position himself in the seat. Imagine electing to have a heated and/or cooled and vented seat, choosing to leverage the center seat to fold down so you can your partner can play games, or make a shared tray for sharing a bottle of wine. Picture easily folding the chair over in order to take advantage of an in-flight massage,