“ It is possible to have more
seats and an improved
level of comfort”
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
084 NOVEMBER 2019
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Aircraft Interiors
International website
for more images of
the Galaxy cabin
5. MEAL SERVICE IS SIMPLE
FOR THE OUTBOARD SEATS
6. A RETAIL OPPORTUNITY
AT THE DOOR 2 ENTRY
7. THE VIEW FROM A MIDDLE
SEAT IN A B777
A IRGO G A L A X Y
level of privacy. However, we thought about families
travelling in business class, and that is a scenario where
people want to have human interactions, especially with
their kids. We looked at the Qsuite by Qatar Airways and
thought it was interesting, but then again it is not exactly
space-efficient and it has rear-facing seats, which we
wanted to avoid at all costs. In the end, we decided it
is best to have two completely different seat designs
in the cabin.”
The solution for families or couples is the outboard
seats, the walls of which can be lowered to create a shared
space. A two-way authentication system integrated into
the IFE prevents unwanted visitors, as to lower the wall
one neighbour must send a request, which the adjacent
neighbour can refuse or accept via the system. The
invitee can also decide whether to lower only the top
portion of the wall (good for
colleagues), or the whole
dividing panel for a fully shared
space that can serve as a queen
bed for couples, or a shared area
for families with children.
NUMBERS GAME
The inconsistent passenger
experience is at first glance
particularly noteable in the seat pitch figures, with the
window seats having 27.6in while the middle seats have
47.6in. However, numbers can be deceiving.
“With a
seat pitch of
27.6in, you would
immediately think
that the window seat
is going to be very
compact, but in fact each of
these seats occupies a larger
floor space than the middle seat variants, despite their
seat pitch of 47.6in. With both seat variants, passengers
would still get a 21.5in seat width, and a bed length of
129cm. These numbers are actually better than some
other business class seats that offer a lower cabin density,
and the IFE screen size is 21in, which is the same as you
get on premium carriers like Singapore Airlines. So it is
possible to have more seats and an improved level of
comfort, as long as no space is wasted”.
The Galaxy cabin design also benefits from a cocktail
bar on widebodies such as the B777, as well as a welcome
zone in the Door 1 boarding area where passengers can
help themselves to a glass of champagne and some snacks,
and another at Door 2 where they can hang their coats
and grab a book or newspapers.
Galaxy is an interesting idea, and AirGo has filed a
patent for the seating arrangement. However, unlike the
studio’s Carbon seat design (see below left), AirGo is not
necessarily seeking to manufacture the seats.
“We understand that many airlines have preferred
manufacturers when it comes to premium cabins and
we are open to licencing arrangements,” said Yaghoubi.
“We are also ready to work with airlines and seat
manufacturers to customise the design. If an airline wants
wider window seats for example, we could always take
one row off and still offer a high-density solution.”
COMPOSITES EXPERTISE
AirGo Design is best known
for its Carbon full-composite
economy class seat, which
weighs just 7kg per pax. Now
the design is finally reaching
market readiness after four
years of hard work, Alireza
Yaghoubi believes it is time
to venture beyond economy
seating, with Galaxy being the
next big project.
“Trial production of Carbon
has begun and our certification
team is now focused on
qualifying the new composite
material as well as the process
that enables its production.
It was a relatively lengthy
development that reached its
ambitious goal of combining
weight-saving and comfort with
competitive pricing. That also
means our team of designers
and engineers are once again
free to work on new ideas”
states Yaghoubi.
concept
5
6
7
Turn to p62 for details of another interesting cabin
concept: the Flying-V with two cabins and one wing
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com