Red Cabin Innovation Summit

Evolving the aircraft cabin for a climate-conscious, post-pandemic world

Humans need contact. We feed off each other’s successes, generate ideas and build new visions through conversations and shared experiences. Virtual reality can take us so far, but whether for business or pleasure, we still look for the personal experience and social contact. And we need and arguably, will continue to need air transport to provide this, from both an economic and sociological perspective.

In an ever-more uncertain world, aspiring to passengers’ newly-forming sustainable ideals, providing a visibly safe and reassuring environment, whilst also making the airline business model stack up, are key challenges for pioneering designers and engineers, investors and legislators across the globe.

With every new innovation in aircraft design, alternative fuel, use of materials and technology, we need to ask ourselves how we can reduce the impact on the environment and make it sustainable. In my mind, solutions that focus on increasing operational efficiency whilst reducing carbon emissions are critical.

In creating these solutions, however, we must first scrutinise traditional business models which, in this new global environment, are no longer fit for purpose. For example, it is absolutely fundamental that the unnecessary carriage of food and beverages on short-haul flights is questioned, as supplies are so often over-catered. Also, eliminating the historic industry culture of high spares utilisation towards a more sustainable model of total cost of ownership throughout the full product life cycle, would be a step closer to leaner and greener commercial aviation.

“Reducing aircraft weight is fundamental to sustainable aviation.”

In 2007, I was involved in presenting a brand new fixed back aircraft seat at AIX in Hamburg, which polarised opinion between airlines and seat manufacturers. It was a product born of observation rather than specification and tradition. The idea was simple. How can we give passengers better space in high density cabins? The market was unproven and the concept had many sceptics. Today, though, this concept is reality. The fixed back seat is the model of choice for many single-aisle low-cost carriers, which delivers a more comfortable flying experience, whilst airlines benefit from a high density, weight efficient seat layout.

But there is so much more work that can be done and we will continue to see new innovations and materials being developed at pace. From an environmental perspective, the world is at a tipping point and travellers and legislators alike are expecting the aviation industry to raise it’s game for the better. We have already seen influences from other industries, including furniture, architecture, automotive and fashion design. I suspect we will also see innovations from the medical, materials and consumer electronics sectors playing a significant role in the future.

This is the time for honest introspection and hard questioning of tradition, as collectively, the whole industry must identify solutions that are practically and economically achievable to respond to the issues at hand. Drawing on my significant experience in conceiving and developing two economy seats from sketch to installation, led me to establish my own consultancy, Doy Design. A core objective and passion of mine is to bring a disruptive and ground-breaking economy seat to the aviation market within a couple of years, which will help airlines and the flying public see a tangible, positive difference toward the utopia that is sustainable commercial aviation.

The aircraft cabin has always been a very challenging space in which to innovate but thanks to specialist event planners like @Red Cabin, designers, engineers, manufacturers and financiers can come together in the spirit of collaboration with a common goal to make the aircraft cabin a more comfortable and sustainable environment.

I am delighted, therefore, to have been invited to be a panellist on the upcoming virtual Aircraft Cabin Innovation Summit.

It promises to be an insightful and thought-provoking event!