Page 29 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 Online Magazine

COLUMN
With Christmas and Chinese New Year on the horizon and
more people travelling, there is a serious risk this will get worse.
However, many airlines are taking the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix
it” approach – arguing that as economy cabins are at capacity,
there is no need to invest in innovation.

In the last 20 years, the global airline industry faced the SARS
outbreak, Swine Flu, MERS, and COVID-19, and is also battling
rising influenza cases.
If history teaches us anything, it is that there will be another air-
borne pandemic or epidemic that brings commercial aviation to
its knees – it is only a matter of time. That is why it is vital that
JON PAGE, PRESIDENT AT PEXCO AEROSPACE the industry changes its mindset now and focuses on implement-
ing long-lasting and proven innovations that elevate passenger
FROM CONCEPT wellbeing and hygiene onboard for everyone.

TO CABIN: In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, it was thought
that surface transmission was a big issue.
AIRSHIELD IS Only later did the scientific evidence point toward airborne trans-
mission as the primary threat – something even more critical
THE FUTURE for concealed spaces like aircraft cabins, especially narrowbody
planes.
The year 2023 will see global air travel When it comes to airborne viruses, we deal with an invisible
rebounding from the pandemic. The latest enemy that moves unexpectedly. At Pexco, we felt that if we
data from the International Air Transport were to help, we needed to understand the cabin airflow envi-
Association (IATA) predicts the industry will ronment better.
return a US$4.7 billion profit next year, with
passenger numbers exceeding four billion – Enter AirShield
just shy of the total passengers in the year
before the pandemic. To do that, we completed one of the largest and most com-
prehensive independent assessments of cabin airflow on a
In anticipation, many airlines have invested particulate level. Using more than 60 million computational fluid
heavily in their premium cabin classes – dynamics (CFD) data points and information from a series of
expecting passengers to want to continue on-wing tests onboard real narrowbody aircraft – in partnership
spending on luxury travel experiences as an with pioneering airlines and aircraft lessors, including American
antidote to lockdown restrictions. Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Avolon – we
Passengers who can afford these experiences discovered two things.
will benefit from privacy dividers, seat doors, Firstly, aircraft cabins are highly efficient at exchanging and
high suite walls, and more personal space to cleaning the air in considerable volumes, with the HEPA filtra-
keep them comfortable and protected from tion system performing exceptionally well in removing bacteria
unwanted germs and odours onboard. But the and viruses from the air. But our research also found that with
economy class experience has not changed, existing airflow in narrowbody aircraft, airborne particles and
leaving millions of passengers wanting more. odours – that could potentially be contaminated with viruses
from stray breaths, coughs, or sneezes – are inadvertently being
Fighting an Invisible Enemy pulled across neighbouring passengers’ seats, swirling around
their heads, before they exit through the HEPA filters.
This economic season is a challenging time
for aviation in the Asia-Pacific region. Thirty- This extensive research gave birth to an idea: AirShield. A
nine countries across the region have felt the next-generation technology that enhances what has come before
full force of COVID-19, with more than 170 and creates a cabin experience fit for the post-pandemic world.
million infections to date. Despite stringent
travel restrictions and large-scale vaccination We have spent more than two years developing and testing its
programmes, infections are rising again in design and performance. AirShield is now in the final stages
China, Japan, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, of certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
and Singapore, according to the latest data – meaning it will not be long until it is in the sky protecting pas-
from Nikkei. sengers. But how does it work?

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