A LMADESIGN
focussing on the opportunities of hybrid
electric propulsion and modular aircraft
architectures. Urban and regional air
mobility vehicles have emerged as a future
trend against a backdrop of increasing
urbanisation, road congestion and
advances in electric and hybrid propulsion
technologies and autonomous systems.
New trends in mobility services such as
mobility on demand, mobility as a service
and shared mobility have also seen
significant developments in recent years.
Flexcraft is focused on developing an
on-demand urban air transportation
solution with a great passenger
experience, achieved by designing
innovative cabin layouts and modular
fuselage configurations.
The project brings together the
expertise of a consortium of companies
and institutions (Almadesign, IST, SET,
Embraer and Inegi) in the fields of
industrial design, aeronautical engineering,
process engineering and aircraft
manufacturing. The Flexible Aircraft will
be tested using a remotely-operated
scaled demonstrator, an innovative
manufacturing process already presented
this year at Paris Airshow, and a full-size
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
066 ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2020
cabin mock-up that will be unveiled at
Aircraft Interiors Expo 2020, bringing
together all players to make urban and
regional air mobility a reality.
THE TAP A330neo EXPERIENCE
The A330neo project is part of TAP Air
Portugal’s strategy to become a modern,
efficient and competitive flagship airline,
with its Lisbon hub being a key European
gateway to the world. Almadesign’s team
worked closely with the airline to define
its brand values and to create an interior
identity for the Airspace cabin. The project
started with discussions with all suppliers,
from Airbus to seat manufacturers.
The cabin LOPA offers generous
personal space and comfort to improve
the TAP passenger experience. The studio
worked on translating the Portuguese
brand into every detail of the cabin to help
create seamless travel experiences for
passengers. The different classes integrate
a ‘smart freshness’ concept, with textured
materials and colour accents and a
‘Mediterranean luxury’ concept which
enhances the sense of comfort through
the selection of textured natural fabrics,
wood finishes and earth tones.
The TAP Air
Portugal A330neo
project works with
the Airspace by
Airbus cabin
architecture
5. TAP’S A330neo CABINS ARE FITTED
WITH RECARO CL6710 BUSINESS
CLASS SEATS
6. TAP HAS FITTED RECARO CL3710
ECONOMY CLASS SEATS IN THE
A330neo, WITH 12IN IFE DISPLAYS
6
Light can play a key role in cabin
comfort and affect passengers’ behaviour
and well-being. The Airspace cabin brings
this idea to life with a window of light in
the welcome-effect ceiling, filtered by a
pattern of Portuguese tiles. Passengers
experience dynamic colour changing during
each flight phase, creating different
ambiances. These elements contribute
to defining the on board experience and
create the first contact with the TAP brand
when boarding. The designs reinforce the
airline’s brand identity and reposition
TAP’s service standards in its long-haul
growth strategy.
Almadesign’s broad experience across
other industries – with more than 500
projects in the automotive, product and
retail areas – has led the team to develop
other projects such as solar-powered
boats and electric and fuel-cell powered
buses. All these projects have one thing in
common: the aim of a sustainable future
with an improved passenger experience.
5
“ THE STUDIO WORKED ON
TRANSLATING THE TAP AIR
PORTUGAL BRAND INTO EVERY
DETAIL OF THE CABIN”
FREE READER ENQUIRY SERVICE
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