AIX 2025 Recap
1. REAL ESTATE RETHINK
If you want to understand the state of society you need look no further than seating configurations on aeroplanes! Airlines always run the risk of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. And each must decide on the most profitable format. Right now we are generally seeing more economy seats, a booming Premium Economy class, added luxury in first class offerings, and Business class taking the real estate hit.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. Businesses are tightening the purse strings on travelling executives, and in an economic downturn Economy class punters are digging a little deeper for the luxurious but manageable upgrade to Premium, perhaps treating themselves in lieu of bigger ticket purchases like cars and houses.
The challenge for the industry is to create distinct offerings at each of these levels, without the rung below cannibalising the more expensive experience further towards the front of the plane. One solution is for airlines to use technology to make everyone feel special, without ever having to blur lines between classes. More on this later.
But make no mistake. Business class still provides airlines with the opportunity to shine. It remains the flagship zone. The place to push the envelope and grab attention. It is therefore extra pleasing to hear noises that our client Stelia’s lavish new Rendezvous family was seen as one of the most innovative new seats at AIX this year. It is privilege to have helped them bring such a distinctive design to life.
2. SENSOR REVOLUTION
Sensor technology is getting very good and the aircraft environment is the perfect place to take advantage of technological progress. Understanding the status of passengers, of stock on board, of ground teams, of maintenance requirements - it is all possible in real time and with the support of AI.
Being able to flag irregularities prior to systems failing on board and capturing opportunities to delight passengers before they have even realised they need attention is wonderfully fertile ground. And it was great to see past TG0 clients such as Collins Aerospace take home a Crystal Cabin Award for their exciting galley.ai system.
3. HARNESSING TECH TO REINFORCE BRAND IDENTITY
Tech for tech’s sake rarely makes sense. But when cleverly deployed to bring joy and surprise and new functionality to an environment, tech can have an outsized impact. I was pleased to see Cathay Pacific’s ‘Gallery in the Skies’ concept rewarded by Crystal Cabin, not so much due to the technical achievement itself, but because they leveraged the idea to showcase artists from Hong Kong and tell a story of the company and their culture.
This is a signpost to the future and we see it being pushed much further. Using technology that impacts on all the senses we can more seamlessly merge the journey with the destination (through clever haptics, smells, textures and movements) and we can better blur the lines of the passenger journey, from booking to airport to aircraft and beyond.
In terms of tech that is ripe to be deployed right now, we can serve passengers (and to my earlier point) provide differentiation between classes in a variety of ways.. Adaptive ergonomics, immersive entertainment and gamification, social and collaborative experiences, hyper-personalised UX with AI predictive comfort etc. There is so much to explore.
4. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SCREEN TIME…
There were some other notable awards given out to IFEC innovations where functionality for seat controls, lighting and entertainment had been loaded onto clean and simple touchscreens. The upsides of these screens are definitely there. Short learning curves for first time users and the ability to embrace norms of familiar phone tech - swiping, scrolling, zooming etc.
But there are downsides too. TG0 works closely with the automotive sector and we have seen firsthand the backlash against characterless touchscreens. Will that trend play out on aircraft too? I certainly heard more than a few whispers of desire for increased tactility.
I would advise a note of caution to airlines that for all the simplicity touchscreens provide, the human desire for tactile, 3D buttons and switches and dials is not going away. The opportunity, then, to design novel interactions that capture both the imagination of passengers and the identity of airlines is huge.
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