WELCOME
003
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
JUNE 2020
TOGETHER AGAIN
W hen I mentioned concerns about the
coronavirus in my foreword for the March
issue, I must admit I did not foresee its
effects on the world becoming quite so profound.
Discussing moments of ‘surprise and delight’ in the
passenger experience seems like a distant memory
as the world begins to heal and aviation responds to
a whole new set of bigger challenges as travel restarts.
Even without passengers, commercial aviation
has proved its essential role to governments during
the pandemic as it has worked tirelessly to deliver
essential supplies around the world. The interiors
sector has also had a major role during the crisis,
responding incredibly quickly to develop solutions
that enable passenger fleets to carry life-saving
supplies in the cabin as well as the belly. And
while some initially criticised aviation’s part in the
spread of the virus, the focus seems to be switching
to its critical role as an engine to get the world’s
economies working.
A change of tone is also happening with flyers.
The health crisis brought an abrupt change to
people’s lives, prompting in many a primeval urge to
bunker down for safety. However, after a long spell
indoors, and as many societies slowly return to
normality, discussions are changing. The term ‘new
normal’ already feels hackneyed – people want their
old lives back and will appreciate them all the more
as their freedoms return, from meeting family and
friends, to visiting pubs (a hot topic in the UK), and
indeed travel.
Humans are resilient and adaptable, and having
been through pain and stress and seeing our worlds
shrink, from the unlimited opportunities enabled by
aviation to just four walls, many of us feel ready to
broaden our horizons and start living again.
While we have been locked away, we have perhaps
never felt more connected with everyone else around
the world.
Families separated during this trying time are
desperate to reconnect, and aviation delivers that
love across continents. Companies are keen to secure
new deals, and while videoconferencing has been
useful, it lacks soul, as businesses also found after
9/11. Those quick chats as you wait for the elevator
or have a drink after a meeting are when you really
connect. Aviation enables those essential bonds and
lucrative deals.
Of course, changes will need to be made to the
passenger experience as we negotiate a period with
the virus, and this will be the overriding focus of
Aircraft Interiors International as we look at every
aspect that can help the sector recover, and the
longer-term changes that need to be made to air
travel so that such a heartbreaking crisis can never
happen again.
This issue focuses on the immediate needs of
restarting aviation, such as hardware to help separate
passengers in the cabin (see p56), hygiene measures
(p76), safety recommendations (p48), cabin cargo
measures (p42), and psychological factors to reassure
passengers (p20). Our panel of experts has also
identified opportunities that the crisis may present
for the passenger experience (p32), and throughout
this issue you will find messages from senior figures
in aviation that deliver something very important:
hope and confidence.
As the now popular saying goes, ‘we are all in this
together’, and as aviation restarts it will truly bring
the world together once more.
Adam Gavine, editor
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com