INDUSTR Y I NSIGHT
“ It is possible
to be good
at winning
pitches, but
not good at
delivering
projects”
Greater detail
is required from
clients to ensure
pitches are focused
and efficient
Design agencies pulling together
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
MARCH 2020 055
are either the least busy, the most desperate, or have
the most unused ‘generic’ ideas at hand for the project.
Another issue is that it is possible to be good at
winning pitches, but not good at delivering projects,
and vice versa. The two disciplines have some crossover,
but not that much. Pitching is about finding the best
guess to the question ‘what will impress the judge on
the day?’, when it should be about the in-depth rational
process of solving real problems through smart design.
Today’s process also puts designers in a tricky
position, as pitches should be seen as an example of their
work and design process. Pitches are prepared with very
limited input from and interaction with the client, and
even less with the target customers. Ideally the winner
should be on target, but unfortunately airlines just end up
picking the pitch which best depicts what they want to see
on board their aircraft, and then expect the winner to be
able to deliver it. They are therefore inherently putting
designers in a position where they must gamble on a scale
from ‘sensible and achievable’ to ‘crazy and exciting, yet
unattainable’. The airline then stakes its future on its
ability to know which is which.
Finally, the design pitch process generally takes place
at the same time that seat vendors are making their
representations to win the project – a double whammy
of free design! The ramification of this is that the
In 2008, Etihad sent out many invitations
to pitch for an A380 interiors project, with
recipients including established aircraft
interior design specialists and boutique
agencies, as they wanted to evaluate
a diverse range of ideas.
Etihad’s panel was presented with several
proposals, and found that choosing the
right agency was a difficult task. As they
considered the shortlisted bidders, they
did find a solution to meet their needs
though, as Peter
Baumgartner,
Etihad’s then CCO
(now senior advisor
at the Nyras aviation
consultancy) recalls:
“We said, ‘Guys, we
made a decision, it’s
all of you. We want you to come back
to us with an integrated proposal’.”
The parties agreed and the Etihad Design
Consortium (EDC) was born, comprising three
London-based agencies. Acumen applied
its seat design experience; Factorydesign
worked on the passenger experience and
elements such as galleys, lavs, stowages
and passenger destination zones; while
Honour coordinated the project across the
EDC, and helped define design strategy.
However, as the project grew,
including adding a Dreamliner
interior, it effectively became
eight major projects to
complete in five years, between
all the classes and monuments.
The result was a success: the
most customised A380 and B787
interiors in the world. However, it was
still a hands-on project for Etihad, as
Baumgartner says, “If you have such high
ambitions and aspirations, then you can’t
just leave it in someone’s hands and say,
‘See you in five years’. You have to lead
very strongly.”
ABOVE: FOLLOWING THE
OUTBREAK OF COVID-19,
PERHAPS THERE WILL BE LESS
EMPHASIS ON ATTENDING PITCH
PRESENTATIONS IN PERSON
© KASTO STOCK.ADOBE.COM
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com