London-based design studio PriestmanGoode has revealed a new design concept to support the future success of the aviation industry after the coronavirus pandemic. The project, called Pure Skies, includes a complete review of Business and Economy Class cabins to be “future-proof” against potential new pandemics.
New built-in design features, the latest technology and material innovation all help to reduce passenger anxiety, improve personal space and hygiene, and facilitate touch-free journeys. Meanwhile, new revenue opportunities have been created for airlines through innovative cabin features that empower passengers to tailor products around individual preferences. Colors and materials have been used to enhance hygiene and facilitate communication and brand trust.
“This latest work from the studio represents pragmatic innovation,” says Nigel Goode, Co-founding Director at PriestmanGoode. “With the benefit of over 30 years’ experience, we know how to harness design to achieve long-term positive change. We’ve looked ahead to imagine future scenarios and taken into account new passenger behaviors driven by the global pandemic to ensure our designs can be implemented within a few years and will meet user and airline requirements for many years ahead.”
“As a team, our mantra has been to ‘build back better’. We have also found ways to include flexible features that differentiate the service and enable tailored products and tiered pricing options for airlines,” adds Luke Hawes, Director at PriestmanGoode. “This is about providing flexibility and protecting the industry for the future, with ideas that fly.”
Moving away from the notion of ‘class’, Pure Skies instead includes Rooms and Zones. The Pure Skies Zone features a combination of staggered and non-staggered seat configurations, helping to maximize the feeling of personal space and allowing passengers to sit in the groups they are traveling in, whether alone, as a couple or in groups.
Dividing screens every other row in the Pure Skies Zone offer greater separation, help purify the air inside the cabin and alleviates passenger anxiety. The literature pocket has been replaced with an optional removable bag for each passenger or the option to clip-on their own bag. Each Pure Skies Zone seat features a fold-down table with wireless charging and integrated UVC cleaning, a backlit safety card integrated with the back shell that shows relevant information when required and a device holder that can hold multiple personal or airline devices to be attached.
The Pure Skies Room features a brand new seat design with minimal split lines and seam-welded fabrics to eliminate dirt traps. Seat fabrics include photochromic and thermochromic inks that react to new cleaning methods like UVC and heat cleaning and display a message of reassurance to passengers while boarding.
Each Pure Skies Room is a fully enclosed personal space, partitioned by full-height curtains. Each Room features personal overhead stowage and a personal wardrobe, both with integrated UVC cleaning.
“With both passengers and airline employees at the heart of this project, we have not only taken onboard present anxieties but also tried to ensure our solutions are future-proofed against future pandemics, recognizing the significant commitment and investment involved,” concludes Nigel Goode. “We also acknowledge that rules and perceptions are continually changing. We firmly believe that by building-in additional safeguards and designing-out areas that previously caused concern, our Pure Skies concept encompasses a range of innovative and relevant options that will appeal to airlines for different reasons depending on their customer profile, location and fleet. However, planning must start today for these solutions to be ready and in place for when volumes undoubtedly return in the industry.”