PA XEX O PPORTUNITIES
Question: how
will Covid-19
change passenger
expectations?
WE MUST
ADDRESS FEARS
BILL PERRONE, PRESIDENT,
PERRONE AEROSPACE
“While comfort was once at the forefront of passengers’
minds, safety will now outweigh that moving forward. Like 9/11,
fear and speculation will linger long after commercial flights
have resumed. Passengers will need assurance that all
reasonable attempts have been made to protect
them from possible pathogens. We will be
required to provide them with the
opportunity and appropriate
means to take control of their
environment through
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
JUNE 2020 035
DIRECT
APPEAL
HELENA TEICHRIB,
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER,
AIM ALTITUDE
“I see three main drivers that might impact
airline offerings: a new focus on hygiene
for passengers and crew alike; a new
appreciation for being able to distance
ourselves from other travellers; and
a broader appetite for direct flights,
which will drive demand for
ultra-long-haul routes.”
NOVEL
HYGIENE
DR.-ING. HOLGER
FRIEHMELT, HEAD OF THE
INSTITUTE OF AVIATION,
GRAZ UNIVERSITY OF
APPLIED SCIENCES
“A virus is not just an issue for cabin interiors,
as it can potentially infect a passenger at
any point of the travel experience. All
stakeholders of an air travel service
must now stringently and seamlessly
work together to ensure the
success of novel hygienic
RESTORE standards and procedures.”
CONFIDENCE
NATHAN MATTHEWS,
CREATIVE LEAD, FORPEOPLE
“Passengers will expect to see stringent
measures in place to protect them and the
airline staff, and to mitigate the spread
of potential future outbreaks. This will
become a new metric by which airlines
are rated.
“Meeting their responsibilities for
passenger welfare, and the wider public
health, whilst maintaining a unique
and compelling brand experience
will be a challenge for every
airline. However, the airlines
that rise to that challenge
will be richly rewarded
as passengers vote
with their feet.”
FAST-TRACK INNOVATION
CRISTIAN SUTTER, GENERAL MANAGER UK & DIRECTOR
OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION STRATEGY, GDC TECHNICS
“Many factors could be affected by new passenger behaviours and expectations,
from lower cabin density to allow for social distancing, to boarding and
disembarking procedures and even lavatory design.
“For instance, as passengers start to bring their own non-aviationgrade
sanitisers and wipes on board to clean any surface they
interact with, considerable damage might occur to cabin
and seat surfaces and trims alike. New antibacterial
and antiviral materials that are resistant to
a wider variety of cleaning products may be
required. A new drive for introducing
touchless technology will also
fast track many cabin
innovations that have
been around for
a while.”
PASSENGER
AWARENESS
DAVID CAON, FOUNDER,
CAON DESIGN OFFICE
“Hygiene and wellness will play a much bigger role in the
passenger experience. Passengers will need to feel confident
that they’re safe throughout their journey, and will be acutely aware
of their environment. I think flyers will also be much more informed about
their personal hygiene and will be focused on whether airlines
are providing a safe space.
“For airlines exploring ULH options, it will help prove the case
for the freedom that this kind of route capability will give
them in adverse times. By limiting stops along
a journey, passengers will be exposed to
fewer situations. Needless to say,
the drop in oil prices will also
make this an attractive
proposition.”
REVIEW
LOPAS
JAIME MORENO, FOUNDER
AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR,
MORMEDI
“Reviewing the health of passengers and cabin crew before
boarding will become a new standard, in order to help guarantee
the health and safety of everyone onboard.
“Airlines will also have to review how they go about their customer
segmentation and look into customer preferences, as I am quite sure
that preferences will change after this crisis, and this will have
an impact on cabin layouts and LOPAs.
“Inside the cabin, we are going to see an acceleration
in the rollout of newer interfaces such as voice
control (versus touchscreens), as well as
CMF that will be determined not
only by aesthetics, but also by
antibacterial function.” USE DESIGN
TO BUILD TRUST
NIGEL GOODE, CO-FOUNDER,
PRIESTMANGOODE:
“Airlines are going to have to build on instilling brand trust,
showing leadership in safety and reliability, and developing the
passenger experience to focus not just on comfort, but on health and
wellbeing. This opens up opportunities to use design thinking to develop short-
and long-term measures – both in cabin design as well as marketing – that will help
build this trust. Crucially, this will not just come from how airlines adapt the passenger
experience to this new climate, but how they look after their own crew.”
self-cleaning
measures.”
continued >
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