Technical specifications are, of course, paramount, and OEMs have been wooing this segment with specialised offerings. But for the end-user, the inside experience, plush seating, space to meet and discuss, options for in-flight entertainment, food and beverages that are just a button away, also count. That is, the aircraft interiors.

The business aviation market in India is soaring high. Convenience, longterm cost efficiency and status of chartering a business jet, has ensured its own special category in the last decade or so. Corporate charters enable anonymous travel and the ability to access multiple destinations for business meetings thereby saving time, enhancing productivity and saving on costs. While the reasons could range from business related commitments such as board meetings, client-investor-site visits, urgent meetings or leisure including high-end holidays, weddings and pilgrimages, chartering a business jet is an experience that more and more highnet-worth individuals (HNI) in India are now availing.

Technical specifications are, of course, paramount, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) have been wooing this segment with specialised offerings. But for the end-user, a strapped-for-time businessman or senior executive, the inside experience, plush seating, space to meet and discuss, options for in-flight entertainment, food and beverages that are just a button away, also count. That is, the aircraft interiors.

When the first of the Boeing Business Jet series, variants of Boeing aircraft for the corporate aviation market, was launched in 1996, it had luxurious interiors including a master bedroom, a washroom with shower, a conference, dining and living areas. This was a sign that the discerning corporate traveller had arrived and was being noticed.

In recent years, though there has been much research on aviation technology, precious little information is available on passenger feedback about aircraft interiors. But there is no denying that the interior design is critical to the success of an aircraft for both sales and operations. According to a pilot from a leading business charter in India, aircraft interiors are important as they impact aesthetics, safety, weight of the aircraft and passenger comfort. Naturally, the cost of interiors per seat is higher in private jets. While weight penalty is no major issue in private aircraft, spending on aircraft interiors increases the cost of seat per kilometre. Good interiors attract passengers to airlines and are synonymous with the airline’s unique selling point (USP).

Key Elements

If the key elements of aircraft interior design have to be summed up then it would be style, sophistication and comfort and this would be for all aircraft whether airliners or business jets. The passenger cabin is the largest part of the aircraft interior with passenger seats, communications systems and galley equipment.

It is important to note that the interior design of an air charter jet is quite different from an airliner or an exclusive privately-owned jet where the interiors can be customised to suit the requirements of the owner. For air charter jets, unique touches do not make business sense because to maximise revenues, the aircraft interiors must suit the taste and needs of the largest number of customers in a given region. Interior designers at the OEM level study the functionality and objective of the customers’ requirements and then customise interiors. Wing Commander George, Head, Flight Operations, Deccan Aviation, believes that the best interiors are those that use leather upholstery and neutral colours such as steel grey and dark brown as in the Hawker eight-seater aircraft. This aircraft also has sofas to enhance customer experience. International experts aver that beige is almost like an industry standard as it is regarded as pleasant and inoffensive, and helps create a spacious feel in the aircraft. While white is also another colour in that category, maintenance is difficult as it spoils easily.

While business jets naturally strive to surpass commercial airliners in almost every way, durability is one area where high standards need to be shared. Hence operators do observe advances in materials being used in large passenger jets to see if they are feasible for business jets. According to Lenny Gray, General Manager, Ocean Sky’s aircraft interiors business, as quoted in an article, the high usage of charter aircraft means that wear and tear will inevitably become an issue in the end. Stone floors have been installed into one of their Bombardier Global Express aircraft for charter. He believes that not only will the effects of wear and tear be dramatically reduced by stone compared with carpet but adds that this particular innovation will be a strong point of appeal to charter customers. Although stone might be considered the ultimate in resilient materials, everything in the cabin up to two feet from the floor, whatever the material, should be very solid. All charter jets need to handle the regular impact of feet as passengers sit down, stretch their legs or walk around. At seating level and higher, the industry standard materials of ultra-suede and ultra-leather meet the requirements of comfort and durability, he notes.

Aircraft interiors are a serious business globally and the annual Crystal Cabin Awards sponsored by industry majors and launched in 2007 in Hamburg, is the only international award for excellence in aircraft interior innovation. The awards aim at motivating companies and research facilities to develop new products and modern designs for aircraft cabin interiors. The focus is mostly on passenger aircraft but there are innovative concepts for charter aircraft as well. For instance, the winner of the 2012 Visionary Concepts award was a joint programme between Embraer and a consortium of Portuguese companies led by AlmaDesign. Known as Project Lighter, Integrated, Friendly and Eco-efficient Aircraft Cabin (LIFE), it was a concept for an innovative executive aircraft cabin focused on the use of natural and sustainable materials that combined stateof- the-art technology and materials such as leather and cork. It aimed at increasing productivity for the aircraft owner with an executive area and meeting space for business use and a leisure lounge for private use.