MÜLLER |ROMCA
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Under a contract for Lufthansa Group, Müller|Romca has designed the
new-generation economy class seats for Lufthansa’s entire short-haul
fleet and is customising the cabin of the airline’s A321neos
L
ufthansa Group’s Network
Airlines segment, comprising
Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian,
is aiming to achieve further technical
commonality and economic efficiency
through the joint purchase of 100 A320
aircraft. Equipping the cabins of these
aircraft for flexible use between the three
airlines seems obvious and logical – but
it is also highly innovative. The goal is
for the aircraft to be fully convertible
to accommodate each sister airline’s
individual interior design. In turn, this
means that each sister airline will be able
to operate any partner A320 aircraft in
the Network Airlines A320 fleet with only
minimal rebranding work required,
enabling them to react to short-term
changes in demand and to deploy aircraft
at different hubs, for example.
The spirit of most airlines is global,
but their brand focus is often deliberately
regional and individual. This focus
particularly applies to the premium Swiss,
Austrian and Lufthansa airline brands.
With respect to the design of the seat
covers and add-on parts, this means
placing each individual brand’s unique
design language in the foreground so that
a unique and brand-specific interior is
created in combination with the A321neo
cabins, which have also been customised
by Müller|Romca for all three airlines.
SEAT DEVELOPMENT
During the preliminary stages of seat
development projects, airlines usually ask
Müller|Romca’s founders – Jochen Müller
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
076 ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2020
a design concept with styling that reflects
the characteristics of the brand and the
product, reflects the client’s corporate
identity, and looks to the future. This
process also entails the creation of a
detailed 3D data model and the creation of
life-like renderings of the trim and finish.
PLASTIC PARTS
The Lufthansa Group selected the Essenza
economy class seat model from Italian
and Jens Romca – and their team to create
a design which is not derived from any
specific product in the market. According
to Müller, the result allows airlines to
select the right supplier for them,
independent of commercial restraints.
At this first stage, all the seat fittings,
the placement of the resulting
components and their design are defined.
Using this definition as a basis, the
product design specialists develop
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