Gallery: Industry Unveils New Technologies at AIX

Collins Aerospace introduced SpaceChiller, a modular thermoelectric cooling system scalable to fit a variety of applications throughout an aircraft’s interior. SpaceChiller quietly and efficiently chills compartments to food-safe temperatures without the use of refrigerants that may impact global warming.

Collins Aerospace’s business and premium-economy MiQ seat has a step that flight attendants and passengers can use to boost them up to get luggage out of overhead bins.

Safran representative demonstrates the Smart Galley, which has an integrated E-panel that enables the integration of smart features such as sensors, actuation and connectivity. It has customizable compartments and fully retainer-free doors.

Safran CEO Vincent Mascré displays the company’s new Unity business-class seat. Leveraging the benefits of its layout and its ability to provide all passengers with direct access to the aisles, Unity offers an innovative design, a spacious suite environment and multiple storage areas. The seat itself is extra large compared to other seats in its category and offers the comfort of a spacious fully horizontal bed.

Safran’s VUE business-class seat is adapted to long-haul flights on narrowbody airplanes. It is designed to offer passengers a similar experience to that of the most comfortable widebody airplanes while maintaining an efficient cabin layout for the airline. VUE already has two launch customers, one on the Airbus A320 family, and the other one on the Boeing 737 family, and will enter into service in 2023.

Safran has taken the audio experience on an aircraft up considerably by introducing Euphony, a wireless system dedicated to acoustic comfort for business and first-class seats that provides passengers with a headset-free and high-quality individual sound system. No headphones are needed; the bespoke speakers are actually built into each side of a standard, adjustable headrest. Euphony was developed in partnership with acoustic engineering company Devialet. Euphony also enables the system to adjust in real-time to the audio content and the ambient cabin noise, offering an optimum listening experience, without affecting other passengers on board.

“Elevate” is a “floating furniture” innovation that brings together a Teague design for a dedicated premium product for narrowbodies with aerospace manufacturer NORDAM’s Nbrace technology, an advanced composite aircraft component that attaches cabin furniture to the side walls without relying on standard seat tracks.

With Nbrace technology, which NORDAM uses for its Elevate “floating furniture” design, it is now possible to design cabins without traditional restrictions, allowing multiple three-dimensional fixing points across the cabin, including the side walls.

AirShield—which came out of a partnership between Teague and Pexco Aerospace during the height of the pandemic in 2020—is a component that fits right over the existing overhead air vents and optimizes the effectiveness of those gaspers by further clearing cabin air by sending it more efficiently to the HEPA filters. It creates a protective air barrier around each passenger, which reduces the spread of airborne viruses. Pexco says AirShield improved the flow of air in the aircraft by 230% and reduced shared air particles by 76%.

High-speed connectivity and entertainment solutions provider Anuvu won a Crystal Cabin Award for its newly launched connectivity solution, Dedicated Space. The innovation—which was tested on launch customer Southwest Airline’s 737 fleet, addresses today’s connectivity challenges and meets rapidly evolving consumer demand for more consistent and stable inflight internet experiences, maximizing the bandwidth performance of existing connectivity networks.

Airbus is launching Airspace Link HBCplus, a broadband connectivity solution using common hardware for a selection of service providers. Safran was chosen as the terminal provider and antenna integrator. It will use ThinKom’s VICTS phased-array technology, targeted for Ka-band. The solution is being made available on every Airbus aircraft, with entry into service expected in 2024.

Thales unveiled Avant Up, the latest evolution of its inflight entertainment (IFE) systems, featuring an improved display and smart charging for passenger’s devices. The Optiq display enables 4K QLED high dynamic-range pictures with one billion colors and is available in various sizes, in more compact formats.

Caeli Nova, a startup company formed in 2018, is developing a more efficient emergency oxygen system that aims at allowing shorter routes. The availability of onboard oxygen through masks, in case of cabin depressurization, is one of the limitations to take into account when planning a flight. A prototype mask was made available early in 2022 for testing by EASA.

Intelsat used the first day of AIX to announce the launch of a new IFC solution for use by airline customers. The new electronically scanned array-based antenna gives users the ability to switch from satellite to satellite more quickly than possible with traditional mechanically steered systems. It is the first in a new line of terminals with the capability to interoperate with Intelsat’s established geostationary satellites (GEO) in addition to the new LEO or MEO satellites.

Airbus is introducing the L Bin, a new retrofit option for A320 family operators to benefit from enlarged overhead luggage bins. Airbus plans to make its Airspace cabin configuration—available with either conventional or XL Bins—the A320 family’s standard in 2024, when the A321 XLR enters into service.

Panasonic unveiled the new Astrova IFE system, which is scheduled for initial deliveries in late 2024, with operational use starting in 2025. Panasonic is in talks with OEMs over line-fitting the new system, but it will also be available as a retrofit.

On the eve of AIX, Hong Kong’s HAECO Cabin Solutions and Germany’s Diehl Aviation jointly introduced a simplified aft-lavatory/galley complex branded Aft-Simplex for the narrowbody market. With a design concept similar to Airbus’ Space-Flex option, Aft-Simplex combines the two rear lavatories and galley into a single complex. Four configurations are available. This frees up space for another row of seats on the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.

Recaro Aircraft Seating partnered with Panasonic Avionics to unveil a new in-flight entertainment seat-end solution installed on the CL3810 economy class seat. The launch took place on the first day of the AIX. The lightweight approach to seating taken by Recaro is further enhanced by the weight savings from the IFE solution, which includes entertainment amenities such as a 4K OLED screen with High Dynamic Range (HDR).

Satellite operator Viasat is counting on its next-generation ViaSat-3 satellites to drastically improve inflight connectivity, as the first of three spacecraft plans to launch in 2022. The first ViaSat-3 satellite will cover the Americas. To be launched six months later, the second one is to cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Six months after that, the third satellite will cover the Asia-Pacific region.

Lobbying association Flying Disabled has joined forces with design company PriestmanGoode, wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical, and SWS Certification, a consultancy specializing in aviation equipment approvals to unveil Air 4 All. The idea is to allow a personal wheelchair to take most of the space of a slightly modified front-row seat. The patented Air 4 All system is designed to be compatible with a wide range of airline seats and powered wheelchair types. A launch customer is expected by September. An approval in the form of a technical standard order could be obtained in 1-2 years.

Boeing Encore, the OEM’s interiors manufacturer, has replaced a legacy system for configuring Boeing 737 galleys with a new virtual design tool. Unveiled at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), the Virtual Configuration Studio (VCS) allows airlines to customize the galley design for their single-aisle jets remotely. Previously, says Boeing Encore, galleys used to be designed on an Excel spreadsheet. With VCS, the airline is now presented with an electronic diagram of the galley area, with listings of the different types of equipment available for each compartment in the space. The galley can then be designed online.