PriestmanGoode Designs New United Polaris Business Class Cabin

PriestmanGoode is delighted to unveil United Polaris, the new premium business class cabin and lounge for United Airlines.

Over the last three years, the leading aircraft interior and transport design studio has worked closely with United as their strategic partners to develop a comprehensive global re-brand that is seeing a complete overhaul of the passenger experience, from lounge to landing.

From a nose to tail re-design of both domestic and international aircraft interiors, through lounges with bespoke seating and finishes, to airport environments, digital media, inflight meal service items, menus and a plethora of other details, PriestmanGoode has generated a language of quality and refinement for United Airlines.

Unveiled in New York City on 2 June 2016, the new designs for the international fleet focus on a brand new premium experience for business travelers: United Polaris. Following extensive research and passenger studies, this new exclusive offer is tailored to United business passengers, providing them with a serene environment that will leave them feeling refreshed and rested.

PriestmanGoode’s designs range from the lounge to all elements of the onboard experience including seating, bespoke furniture elements like a bar area, branded cabin elements and a host of details including new tableware, glassware and amenity kits, among others.

Nigel Goode explains ‘At PriestmanGoode we design products and environments that elevate brands and shape outstanding passenger experiences. We have been working in close partnership with United Airlines to create a holistic, refined, human-focused journey. The new cabin and brand identity are the physical embodiment of United Airlines’ new philosophy, which keeps the passenger at its heart, and rather than merely move passengers around the world, aspires to move the world forward. Our new designs will align the airline’s many products across the entire fleet, and provide a consistent, passenger-focused journey from home to destination.’

 

United Polaris Cabin

PriestmanGoode designed a whole series of products for the new United Polaris cabin, every element of which is intuitive to operate. Designed as part of a greater whole, each element combines to result in a peaceful, restful cabin environment.

The United Polaris cabin includes an entirely new premium seat, based on an original, patented seat layout concept invented by Acumen,which United is the exclusive North American licensee for. PriestmanGoode then led the strategic development and the creative direction of the concept into a unique United Airlines product with distinctive features including integrated personal stowage with latching door, headphone hook and mirror, a do not disturb feature, bespoke reading light, large solid surface cocktail table and unique trim and finish including the latest innovations in aviation materials. The intuitive lighting and seat controls can be operated from any position and give passengers greater control of their environment.

PriestmanGoode’s designs for the United Polaris cabin also include:

• Bespoke cabin furniture, including galleys, monuments and bar areas
• Unique and bespoke branded elements including literature boxes, boarding brand panels and cabin brand panels
• New tableware, table linen, menus, salt and pepper pots, glassware, hollowware, chocolate boxes, etc.
• Amenity kits
• Cabin trim and finish (carpet, curtain, foils etc.)

United Polaris will be available on selected international flights from December 2016.

Wireless Inflight Entertainment Takes Off on CEBU Pacific Air With KID Systeme’s SKYfi

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq:ENT), a worldwide leading provider of content, connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, today announced a new deployment of its WISE™ wireless inflight entertainment solution within the onboard connectivity platform SKYfi developed by KID Systeme GmbH, a division of Airbus, and installed on CEBU Pacific Air (PSE:CEB), the largest airline in the Philippines.

Since June 2014, several of CEBU’s new A330 widebody aircraft operating on regional and international flights have been equipped with KID Systeme’s SKYfi portfolio, offering connectivity and content streaming to passengers’ personal electronic devices. CEBU utilizes its A330 aircraft on flights from Manila to Dubai, Sydney, Kuwait, Riyadh, Dammam, Singapore and Incheon, among others.

WISE™ provides the software backbone for SKYfi wireless inflight entertainment as well as a complete content program including movies and TV shows approved for streaming with digital rights management (DRM) by major Hollywood studios.

Through GEE’s strategic partnership with KID Systeme, WISE™ is integrated on KID’s widespread ‘ALNA’ hardware platform, a linefit product on Airbus aircraft. GEE will also provide its extensive content management and delivery expertise to airline customers, producing and delivering a full range of software solutions, local and international content selection and distribution, technical services and support.

This initial launch of SKYfi will allow CEBU to gauge the popularity of its wireless content and connectivity product with passengers.

“We’re pleased with the current performance of our SKYfi product featuring WISE™ which marks an important step in the deployment of a strong wireless inflight entertainment and connectivity offering to the airline market,” commented Manfred Brunke Product Manager at KID Systeme GmbH.

“Our partnership with KID Systeme will provide our robust content-rich and hardware agnostic wireless entertainment solution to KID Systeme and airline customers, and we’re delighted that the program is going according to plan on board CEBU,” said Alexis Steinman, Senior Vice President, Software & Development at GEE.

 

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/wireless-inflight-entertainment-takes-off-on-cebu-pacific-air-with-kid-systemes-skyfi-platform-20141029-00473#ixzz3HaKXVIsn

KID-Systeme Announces Successful Wireless IFE Trial With Cebu Pacific Air

KID-Systeme GmbH has announced the start of the trial for their wireless IFE system, named SKYfi club, with Cebu Pacific Air, the largest airline in the Philippines.

SKYfi club was introduced to the market in September 2013, as a wireless streaming onboard platform for passenger and corporate aircraft. It provides a wide range of onboard media applications and services. SKYfi is based on the trusted ALNA (Airline Network Architecture) connectivity platform, pioneered by Airbus and KID-Systeme in 2007 and widely deployed on more than 40 airlines around the world.

SKYfi club complements wireless internet connectivity services already available on Cebu Pacific Air´s onboard platform by offering wireless content-streaming to the passengers’ own devices, including music, movies, magazines and surveys. For the benefit of the airline and crew, KID provides comprehensive statistical tools with SKYfi.

The trial comprises five aircraft in total. Cebu Pacific Air operates its A330 aircraft on flights to Dubai, Sydney, Kuwait, Singapore, Incheon, and selected domestic flights. It is scheduled to commence services to Dammam and Riyadh in October 2014. Its network spans over 60 destinations, utilizing one of the most modern fleets in the world.

Software upgrade, content loading and the aircraft certification were completed without any additional aircraft downtime. The installation was carried out by Cebu Pacific Air and supported in a joint effort by an Airbus and KID on-site team.

Source: KID-Systeme

Surprise: Flyers Don’t Want Seatback Screens

When it comes to in-flight entertainment, more and more passengers prefer to ditch the seatback system and bring their own devices.

According to a new study by market-research firm Osurv, a majority of airline passengers are OK with no seatback entertainment on flights. About 71 percent of respondents said that they would be fine without in-flight entertainment, noting a preference for the larger, higher quality screens of personal devices like iPads. And some passengers cited a general dislike of the in-flight systems (with 9 percent pointing out their potentially germy surfaces).

The results may be unexpected. In a time when airlines cut amenities and services while raising prices, in-flight entertainment seemed to be the simplest way to keep passengers occupied. Some airlines have even upgraded their in-flight entertainment options: Earlier this summer, Delta rolled out free streaming video for all flyers (see right), while all new Airbus A330 planes are built with fourth-generation in-flight entertainment systems (which, a press release notes, include 3-D film capability).

But these systems don’t come cheap. According to The New Yorker‘s David Owen, each seat-back screen alone costs $10,000 apiece, plus another couple of thousand dollars for the hand-held remote. Outfitting a new aircraft or updating an older model could cost millions of dollars—costs that are conceivably are passed onto the passenger.

With an abundance of personal-device options, from mp3 players to tablets to advanced flight-friendly e-readers, flyers may not need the dazzling new in-flight systems anyhow. So perhaps carry-on entertainment is a boon for the consumer. If they don’t want to use the drop-down or seatback screen anyhow, eliminating these from new aircraft could significantly ease production and maintenance costs.

A full 94 percent of the survey’s respondents considered the trend a cost-cutting measure by airlines, and 27 percent thought the savings should be passed onto them by way of cheaper seats. But we imagine that, as ever, cut costs are not passed along to the flyer. Rather, they will go to the airlines themselves.

When pressed as to why ticket prices spiral out of control, airlines like to point out the amazing array of services they offer. But if those services are unwanted, airlines would be silly to keep building them into planes and charging passengers for the pleasure.

What do you think, readers? Are you OK with using your own devices on a plane, or do you enjoy the in-flight entertainment?

Source: Dara Continenza

Wireless IFE May Be Coming Soon To Widebodies

SAS Introduce Brand New Long Haul Interiors

These are great plane seats! Hoping that local (Philippine carriers) airlines will invest in seats like these.

TheDesignAir

SAS, excitingly, have announced a brand new cabin concept for their long haul aircraft. Featuring business class, premium economy and economy classes, the new cabin and seat designs leap the airline into 2014 with a loud bang. Competing against carriers such as Finnair who have already pushed their airline forward with new designed cabins, SAS haven’t fallen behind, showcasing they know exactly what customers want.

Being launched in early 2015, the retrofitted A330 and A340 fleet will offer state of the art business class seats and renovated premium economy (SAS Plus) and economy (SAS go) cabins. We are great fans of the new cabin designs. The designers have gone for a mix of business elegance with contemporary cool, the results are sophisticated, warm and welcoming, and there is a hint of Winkreative’s Swiss interior designs which we are also huge fans of.

The business class cabin, featuring Thomson Vantage XL seats…

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