Aircraft Interiors

The Top 10 Aircraft Interior Innovations of 2014

December 9, 2014 | Written by Marisa Garcia

With the aircraft interiors market booming, and projected to reach $12 billion by 2016, 2014 has been a stellar year. Our top ten(ish) favorites:

: TUI Thomson Family Cabin. Image via TUI Thomson

10. TUI Thomson Airways’ family cabin concept, marks a modern paradigm shift from cabins divided by class to sections for diverse passenger profiles.

: Virgin Australia Business Class Seat. Image via Virgin Australia

9. Virgin Australia’s Business Class seat, with bespoke tailoring by Tangerine, London, puts the “class” in Business.

: Finnair A350XWB Cabin. Image via Finnair

8. The A350 XWB was huge news this year, and Finnair has decked theirs out with Nordic chic and a focus on passenger comfort.

: jetBlue Mint Cabin. Image via jetBlue

7. jetBlue’s superbly refreshing new Mint suites by FactoryDesign, London, taste of sweet revolution in the Low-Cost LUX category.

6. Along with JetBlue’s fresh Mint, FactoryDesign, London, and Thompson Aero Seating gave us the space-savvy Vantage seat on Aer Lingus and SAS. All use cabin space wisely, and give passengers more room through 3D design thinking.

: Virgin Atlantic Birthday Girl Bar. Image via Virgin Atlantic

5. Virgin Atlantic’s smart cabin lighting makes Birthday Girl a dreamy Dreamliner, and showcases the crew, in their new luscious red uniforms, as brand ambassadors.

4. American Airlines’ new 777-200 cabins, designed by JPA Design, London, are modern, stylish and packed with passenger-centric features.

: La Premiere Cabin. Image via Air France

3. Air France put design to work on Business Class which converts to coach to meet demand, and sublime elegance to La PremiÃ¨re suite, by Priestmangoode, London.

2. The Residence on Etihad Airways’ A380 combines a private-jet experience with a suite at a seven-star hotel, and Etihad brought new luxury to all classes.

Economy & Skycouch„¢ 777-300 from Air New Zealand USA on Vimeo.

1. The SkyCouch developed by Air New Zealand turns coach seats into comfy beds.

: China Airlines Economy Family Couch. Image via China Airlines

Its adoption by China Airlines (as Family Couch), proves this unique concept is a winner. Comfort at the front of the plane is to be expected, at the back it’s a positive delight.