UP F RONT
THE FIRST CLASS AND BUSINESS
CLASS SEATS WILL FEATURE NEW
LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY FROM
PANASONIC, CUSTOM-DESIGNED
FOR ANA. INSPIRED BY NATURAL
SUNRISES, THE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN
CRAFTED TO IMPROVE COMFORT
AND CONVENIENCE, WHETHER
SLEEPING, READING OR DINING
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
SEPTEMBER 2019 021
ANA’S B777 UNITES
JAPAN AND EUROPE
East meets west in All Nippon Airlines (ANA)’s redesigned
B777-300ER interiors, with suites in first and business,
created by major design names from the UK and Japan
With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics less than 12 months away, All
Nippon Airways (ANA) is looking to impress visitors travelling
on its 12 B777-300ERs that serve its London to Tokyo routes,
giving western passengers a feel of the country’s culture and
heritage before they land. For five years the airline has been
working with Japanese architect Kengo Kuma on a redesign
of its customer and brand experience, with inflight advances
including the seating, galley entrance areas, social spaces and
cabin interior design across all four cabin classes. Of course the
aircraft will also carry Japanese passengers to London, so the
onboard experience has been designed as a mix of eastern
and western styles, with the Acumen design studio in the UK
brought in to add a western perspective to the carrier’s design
approach and customer experience – and indeed to carry out
the majority of the industrial design.
Some airlines are dropping first class as they find modern
business class suites similar in experience and more efficient
in footprint, but ANA’s B777-
300ERs will offer both. The eight
fully enclosed first class suites –
branded ‘The Suite’ – have a
subdued trim and finish, echoing
ANA’s lounge schemes with
charcoal grey textiles and dark
wood finishes, inspired by the
understated décor of luxury
Japanese hotels. For passengers
travelling together, the movable
partitions in the centre doubles
can be stowed upon request, to
create a shared environment.
At the heart of ANA’s new product investment is a new
business class seat design named ‘The Room’, based on
Safran’s Fusio model, for which ANA is launch customer. The
64-seat cabin has a forward and rearward seat layout and,
according to ANA, is one of the largest business class seating
environments in the world, with a sofa double the width of
the airline’s previous business class seats and ample in-seat
stowage spaces. Each suite also features flexible doors,
which enable adjustable levels of personal privacy, whether
enclosed for sleeping, or open for socialising, companion
dining, or meetings.
The business suites have a lighter appearance than first
class, with the dark grey seat textiles complemented by
rosewood, light Japanese ash and dark Japanese ash finishes,
inspired by modern, multifunctional Japanese living spaces.
Passengers in both first class and business class will be
offered seat mattresses and bedding designed in partnership
with Japanese mattress specialist,
Nishikawa. The unique product
is tailor-made to the seat
cushion for optimal seating
and sleep comfort.
Kengo Kuma said of the
project, “The design process
was just as much about what
we decided to include as what
we decided to omit. My work is
about understanding how space
is used and creating the most
comfortable conditions in any
environment.”
ECONOMY CLASS
The trim and finish schemes for premium economy
and economy are a little more playful, designed with
Japanese patterns which tell a story throughout the
inflight experience, titled ‘The Journey’. The team
specified traditional prints, including a tatami mat
pattern which evokes a Japanese welcome, and an
arrow design taken from the Yagasuri pattern, to
suggest movement and direction. These non-repeating
patterns mean that each seat cover across both
economy classes is unique.
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