Page 22 - AAA MAY - JUNE 2013 Online Magazine

FEATURE INTERIOR DESIGN

Interior by Design:

How the Plane you fly in gets Comfy

When it comes to commercial aircraft, the media glamour goes mostly to
the airframe, the dimensions, the seating capacity and the engine thrust. It’s
specifications all the way. But what is it that brings customers back, time after time,
to any airline or even a specific aircraft?

WAy bAck IN 2005, AIR NEW ZEAlAND alone company became apparent with “One of Altitude’s key success factors
needed to refit some of its existing Boeing the interior refit of Air New Zealand’s is its can-do attitude matched with a
aircraft – the 747 and 777s to be precise Boeing 747 and fit-out of the 777 aircraft highly analytical approach, which allows
– as the interiors were becoming a little in 2005,” says Pervan. it to be fast, flexible and nimble,” asserts
stale to the eye. As was often the case This can-do attitude made the airline Pervan. Now, the company is looking to
for the company, it drew on the in-house realise it could compete on a global scale Asia for both volume and unique products,
expertise of the airline’s own engineers to with specialist overseas companies, and some of which can be one-offs that take
complete the task. as a result it spun off the specialists thousands of hours to develop and test.
The task the airline faced was the into what is now Pervan’s own Altitude He must be right about the success
challenge of designing and building from Aerospace Interiors, a subcontract design factor; the last contract the group secured
scratch new stowage and bar units while and build company based in Auckland and was valued at an estimated US$30 million,
also integrating the new business class Christchurch, New Zealand. for an interior fit-out on a Boeing Business
seats and full in-flight entertainment “That [first job] gave us the confidence, Jet (BBJ). Not bad for a bunch of engineers,
systems for the aircraft. Initially, it went scale and competency to consider creating now operating as a stand-alone company
the conventional route and asked for a separate business that is completely with 50 workers all concentrating solely
quotes from existing companies. focused on aircraft interior design, on grabbing opportunities in the aircraft
“Air New Zealand was initially told supporting Air New Zealand’s continual interior design business.
by overseas suppliers that its time table drive to provide world class interior Today, Altitude Aerospace Interiors
would be impossible to meet,” remembers products,” he says. uses cutting-edge computer technology
Michael Pervan, General Manager of Today, the company provides the to design some of the most innovative
Altitude Aerospace Interiors. “But the Air latest in-flight entertainment systems and plush aircraft interiors in the world,
New Zealand team [eventually] delivered and interior upgrades for the airline’s produced by smart New Zealanders with
on time and below budget, with product A320 and Boeing 767 fleets, and at the plenty of expertise in the design and
that is now being recognised as amongst same time further diversifies Air New installation of interiors for commercial
the lightest and most innovative in the Zealand’s revenue streams by offering aircraft and BBJs.
world,” he says. its expertise and consulting ability to
“Although elements of aircraft interior third-party airlines, providing services for Specialist suppliers
design had been [provided] within Air New Airbus A320s and all Boeing jets, as well Another interior design success story
Zealand Technical Operations for more as targeting the new generation 737, 777 from what might look at first glance to
than 60 years, the potential for a stand- and 787 aircraft types. be rather unusual origins is that of UK-
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