Creating an Atmosphere for Business and Leisure

U.S. carriers improve cabins with seating upgrades, in-flight connectivity and entertainment options.

From seating to in-flight entertainment (IFE), domestic carriers have begun to keep pace with the current trends set by foreign carriers. Squeezing extra funds from tight budgets has been a major deterrent for domestic airlines, but they are slowly recognizing the benefit for the retrofits and upgrades.

Frequent fliers may not find in-suite saunas, but domestic airlines are catching up to their foreign counterparts by finding ways to make their customers (both first-class and business-class) more comfortable and enabling them to stay more connected in the cabin.

Upgrading Spaces

"Refurbished interiors with their like-new look have a major impact for the airlines and their customers. The attractiveness of an interior can create an atmosphere of confidence and loyalty," says Robert McHugh, VP and general manager of Triumph Interiors. Triumph, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Penn., with locations in Dallas, Portland, Ore., and Shannon, Ireland, has spent more than a decade refurbishing and repairing aircraft interiors. Clients include US Airways, Delta, Northwest, American Airlines and other domestic and foreign airlines.

Granted, foreign carriers didn’t face the dramatic aftermath that domestic carriers faced post 9/11. With more money and less chance of bankruptcy, British Airways launched the global lie-flat bed in business class. Lufthansa installed flat seat-beds in the business-class cabins in more than 30 of its jets that fly between Germany and the U.S. Scandinavian Airlines offers its economy class improved food service that includes a three-course meal with a selection of wines, bigger seats and video-on-demand.

Domestically, American Airlines and Delta, among others, have begun to make up for lost time by providing their customers with major upgrades.

Delta Air Lines

The carrier unveiled a new full-flat seat in February 2008 that will become standard in its BusinessElite class on international flights served by the Boeing 767-400ERs. "Our expansion into ultra long-haul markets required a state-of-the-art seat to provide the necessary comfort for our premium passengers," says Bill Archer, general manager of interiors engineering for Delta TechOps. "Our extensive international expansion created vigorous competition with a premium business class product. After we evaluate our full flat business class seats, we will determine the appropriate seat for the rest of our transoceanic fleet. We plan to begin retrofitting our existing B777-200ERs in 2010." For those that don’t fly in the premium classes, Delta has made adjustments to make their flight more comfortable too. "We’ve removed unused galleys and equipment to increase seating area and began installing Weber’s Slimline seats on 104 of the aircraft this year," says Archer. "This seat uses a unique recline geometry and composite components to increase passenger personal space without sacrificing seat density. We’ve installed 7,532 of these seats since 2007 and expect to have 17,238 flying by June 2008." These seats will be installed on Delta’s B737-800s, B767-300s, B777-200LRs and B757-200ERs.

According to Archer, the company is working hard to eliminate unnecessary weight and remove or shrink non-passenger areas in the cabin. "It’s always an interesting activity to work in a seating arrangement around fixed aircraft equipment and regulatory requirements," Archer adds.

In-flight entertainment is also a work in progress for Delta. The company is actively involved in evaluating a wide range of IFE options. "We’re installing the latest Panasonic IFE system, eX2, on our new B777LR aircraft," says Archer. Delta plans to have broadcast TV and digital audio/video on-demand equipment installed in 104 aircraft by the end of this year. As with any technical equipment, occasional issues will arise when IFE systems don’t operate as expected. Also, passenger expectations are definitely on the rise and patience sometimes wears thin. "We have an organization dedicated to IFE reliability and maintenance," Archer says.

Delta has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in their cabins with a focus on comfort and appearance. The company also keeps on eye on its environmental impact when making decisions. The carrier recycles its worn carpet and has it shredded and introduced back into the manufacturing process for new carpeting. All of the fabric seat covers are being replaced with leather, which eliminates the hazardous dry cleaning process. New laminates have pre-applied adhesive that reduces the amount of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) emitted by using adhesives applied during installation. "We also use water-based paint during refurbishment and install eco-friendly fluorescent lights that contain 80 percent less mercury. Probably the most significant impact is the use of lighter weight materials and removing unnecessary equipment from our aircraft to reduce fuel burn," concludes Archer.

American Airlines

American’s upgrades to its 124 B757s are happening at the company’s maintenance facility in Tulsa, Okla. Enhancements to these aircraft include the addition of two first-class seats (by removing a closet the airline avoiding having to modify any other first-class seats); new economy cabin seats; brighter sidewalls; LCD monitors to replace CRT monitors; and digital media file servers for better in-flight video and audio entertainment. American is planning on refurbishing 244 aircraft with the work being conducted during normal heavy maintenance visits and special visit lines at the Tulsa base, thereby keeping as many aircraft operating as possible.

All of the company’s Boeing 777s will receive flagship suites in the first-class cabins. These cabins include a fully flat six-by-six foot bed, power ports and swivel seats for face-to-face meetings. Business-class cabins on these aircraft will include lie-flat seats that will track forward 10 inches and feature interlocking tray tables that create a very large workspace. Business travelers will also have in-flight entertainment with audio and video on demand. Larger and ergonomically designed bins are coming to the fleet’s 58 Boeing 767-300s.

American is also upgrading sidewalls, carpeting and reading lights (from incandescent to halogen) on its fleet. The upgraded lighting is a cost-saving and environmentally friendly alternative. The airline conducts many environmentally savvy projects, including its Fuel Smart program, which, according to a spokesperson, "Increased [American’s] fuel conservation efforts to 96 million gallons per year and reduced its carbon dioxide emissions footprint by 1.9 billion pounds per year." During 2007, American saved $204 million in jet fuel. Other projects include an engine wash program and high-speed tractors. The engine wash program periodically cleans the engines and leads to improved fuel consumption and lower emissions. According to the a company spokesperson, "The projected savings for this initiative is 3.9 million gallon of fuel annually." The high-speed tractors allow AA to tow aircraft to the hangars instead of taxiing them, again saving fuel and reducing emissions. "This initiative has a projected savings of 3.2 million gallons of fuel annually," says the spokesperson.

Commercial Aircraft Interiors

"The bulk of our workload is refurbishing existing interior components. We have noticed that LED lighting is quickly becoming a favorite in the aerospace industry," says Rick Phillips, general manager of Commercial Aircraft Interiors in Burlington, Wash. "We have also worked on incorporating individual entertainment systems into the seatbacks." A noteworthy component of CAI’s work is that the company is serious about saving the environment.

When a carrier sells an aircraft to, for example, a freight airline, the unneeded interiors are scrapped and end up in landfills. CAI buys those unneeded parts, refurbishes them to customer specs and returns them to service. "Our business saves the energy to make new panels, the petroleum cost to ship them, reduces the greenhouses gases generated during manufacture and also enables passenger airlines to keep their costs lower," says Phillips. Virtually any interior component may be reused and CAI receives 100 percent of its inventory from the airlines. There are guidelines if a component is too damaged to recycle. According to Phillips, this includes "established repair limits and if it would be less expensive to buy new than to repair. This is known as beyond economical repair."

The majority of the work is done using 737s, 757s and 767s because those aircraft have been on the market long enough that operators are looking to refurbish or customize the standard interiors.

Delta proved to be an expanded project for CAI. The airline contracted the company to refurbish the interior monuments (lavatories, galleys and closets) of 10 737s and 767s as part of Delta’s corporate image program. After the airline received the first 10 planes, they signed up for another 10. CAI removed the existing paint, laminates and carpeting and installed new materials. The project was completed in 2006.

Triumph Interiors

Triumph’s paid attention to customer feedback and initiated the company’s "floor-to-floor" service. This service includes refurbishing, repairing and sometimes manufacturing all parts of an aircraft’s interior (except the seats). The company also developed AeroBlast Stripping that, according to Triumph, is a faster, safer and more cost-effective way to strip metal panels. This process uses eco-friendly cornstarch instead of sand, which provides enough power to remove the laminate and doesn’t damage the base panel. The process takes up to 20 minutes as opposed to the two hours it could take to strip the panel by hand.

"Our current refurbishment process for panels includes stripping the panels of their laminate and applying new laminate (decorative). We do this in lieu of laying new laminate on top of the old, also known as piggybacking. Stripping panels of their old laminates keeps panel weight down versus piggybacking. In addition, we provide a Tedlar application solution to carpeted dados, or kick panels, which is lighter and more durable," says McHugh.

Of course, there is always the issue of downtime and Triumph ensures that supply chain challenges are not a factor. "We sometimes encounter long lead times for OEM components which do not fit within our rapid turn services or our clients’ maintenance scheduling requirements. To overcome these obstacles, Triumph Interiors offers innovative solutions through PMA component development and DER repair approvals. We currently have a full-time DER on staff and are active in the development of both PMA and DER approved repairs. This activity allows us to control a larger portion of the supply chain and reduce our total turn time to the customer," says McHugh. For example, he continues, "we are producing light lenses for a variety of aircraft types under PMA. We have improved on the OEM design by offering a more UV-stable resin thus extending the life of the lens (maintaining whiteness longer). These lenses are manufactured in house and are maintained in stock to meet maintenance and repair needs."

Future Customer Comfort

It’s not just about the color of the sideboards or the shape of the headrest anymore. Domestic passengers are requesting the same richness in their surroundings that foreign flyers are experiencing. Larger seats, in-air connectivity and better meal options are only the beginning for domestic airlines. According to Wayne Plucker, senior industry analyst, aerospace & defense, Frost & Sullivan, "The cabin interiors market may become one of the more dynamic portions of the MRO marketplace over the next several years." He says that once U.S. airlines have emerged and stabilized from bankruptcy, refit and re-badging could create a significant market. Once those airlines’s fleets appear ‘new and shiny,’ there will be pressure on other airlines who are approaching the end of their livery cycle." Competition is alive and well in the aviation industry.