APEX In Profile: Julia Debacker
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Julia Debacker
Innovation and User Experience Specialist
Zodiac Aerospace and Delft University of Technology
Julia is a design engineer with a passion for innovation and service excellence. She is currently a PhD researcher at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft. Prior to focusing on the airline sector, Julia gained experience in business development and strategy working in complex cultural environments around the world.
FAST FACTS
Frequent Flight: AMS-DXB
Favorite Aircraft: 777-200LR
Brand of Suitcase: The vintage models at my grandma’s place
Passport stamp you wish you had: Namibia
Did you choose the airline industry or did it choose you?
From an early age, I knew I wanted to be part of the aviation industry. I started with an education in engineering, then fashion design; becoming a flight attendant, getting into sportswear and interior design. All the dots connect perfectly now and I can see the industry from multiple perspectives, which allows me to envision a big spectrum of opportunities for innovation.
What is the most overlooked aspect of the aircraft cabin?
As an Italian, I truly believe that if you own the kitchen, you own the house. I feel as though the heart of the service experience – the galley – has been overlooked for a long time.
“The heart of the service experience – the galley – has been overlooked for a long time.”
What is the most overlooked aspect of the passenger experience?
The seat belt. Imagine if passengers were able to be more active in flight and less encumbered while still safe.
What is most important for you when it comes to onboard comfort?
Comfort, in my view, is not a term attributed to a product, but a feeling. We tend to solve the feeling through the physical, such as seat ergonomics. But we lack focus on ambience, such as lighting, smells and air quality. I would give anything for a more humidified and purified cabin so my skin would be glowing when I disembarked!
Where do you stand on the tug and pull between automation and personal service? Where can technology help, and where is the human touch irreplaceable?
A good starting point is to relieve the service personnel from unnecessary work. For example, on board, all tasks that are not related to the quality of passenger interaction, such as checking if seatbelts are buckled, could be automated, freeing the crew for quality contact time with the passengers.
How has your experience as a flight attendant influenced your current work?
Tremendously! It defines my decisions on a daily basis. My current job at Zodiac Aerospace and my PhD research are all focused on a desire to address cabin design challenges that I’ve discovered as a flight attendant. As a result, I feel very connected to the user (the crew), and this empathy helps me make sensible decisions in product development.
Every job has a cool factor. What’s yours?
I really enjoy challenging engineers on behalf of the cabin crew – while hopefully improving their work lives, too!
What’s the one item you can’t travel without?
Flying tights and hand sanitizing gel!
If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you love to be doing?
I would enjoy working as an in-flight services auditor or a seatbelt designer – a cross between aviation, engineering and fashion design – since the seatbelt is the only part of the plane people actually wear!
Your top three films of all time?
I’m in love with classics such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Motorcycle Diaries and, more recently, The Dressmaker.
If you could sit next to anyone on a plane, it would be…
I would love to sit next to my current boss, Thomas Lee. He is an aviation encyclopedia and he can share details of in-flight innovations from all times – stories so touching and funny, I just can’t get enough and I find them super inspirational!
How many days can you last with just a carry-on?
I can last with a carry-on forever – until my makeup runs out!
“APEX In Profile: Julia Debacker” was originally published in the 7.1 February/March issue of APEX Experience magazine.