If you’re looking for evidence of sustainability in business aviation at EBACE 2023 this week, you’ll find aircraft cabins statically on display at Geneva Airport and completed and refurbished by specialists on display at Palexpo. Look no further than custom interior components.
While the industry’s emphasis on sustainability is relatively recent, cabin interiors have relied on sustainable materials and renewable resources for “decades,” said Christy Tanahil Sr. Vice President of Customer Experience at Textron Aviation (Booth T26, Static Display AD_07). She cites wool, cotton, linen, silk, mohair, bamboo and leather commonly used to outfit business aircraft cabins, all of which are sustainable and renewable.
Manufacturers and interiors professionals are now redoubled efforts to make cabins greener and reduce the carbon footprint of aircraft over their lifetime, while at the same time exploring what designers and engineers can achieve on the road to carbon neutrality. is shown.
Global and Challenger business jet cabins manufactured by Canada’s Bombardier (booth K40, static display AD_09) feature “a range of upcycled and engineered soft goods made from recycled or natural fibers.” said Lawrence Cassia, manager of industrial design and cabin innovation at Bombardier. Many of the items featured are those installed in the Challenger 3500, an ultra-medium-sized aircraft of the same aircraft that entered service last year.
The business jet cabin of Gulfstream Aerospace (booth S120, static display AD_08) is similarly equipped with materials “from renewable sources” and the interior components are largely recyclable, according to the company’s president. Mark Burns said. For example, honeycomb aluminum used in cabin structures goes directly to smelters, while textiles and carpets become industrial raw materials. However, Burns said, “Part of our approach to reducing our environmental impact at Gulfstream is to reduce the need for resource consumption to build replacement aircraft. is to design an aircraft that is long,” he added.
Gulfstream Cabin Test Demonstrator
This is also the case for other OEMs, underscored by the average age of jets in service exceeding 18 years in 2022, providing another measure of sustainability. increase.
The cabin of the Dassault Falcon (booth Z72, static display AD_02) incorporates fabrics, wood, vegetable-tanned leather and other renewable and eco-friendly materials throughout. Additionally, due to enter service in 2025, the Falcon 10X is designed with modular interior elements to enhance sustainable maintenance. “If there is a problem with the cabinet, for example, it can be easily repaired or retrofitted without having to replace major internal components,” said Vadim Feltzer, head of global communications at the French aerospace company. I’m here.
Dassault Falcon 10X Cabin Mockup
Dassault’s Colors, Materials and Finishes Design Studio recently created a unique palette of materials featuring undyed wool carpet designs featuring colors from the natural world. It has the pristine beauty of the colors of nature: light and dark beige shades and other subtle earth tones. Each batch may vary slightly. Dassault is the first aircraft manufacturer to offer an alternative to this pattern for new cabin installations, with a unique weaving technique that accentuates the subtle contrasts.
Peregrine falcon with wool carpet and parquet
Textron (booth T26, static display AD_07), which makes Cessna, Beechcraft and Bell aircraft, also used organic, natural and biodegradable fabrics and leathers, as well as recycled veneers, at EBACE last year. Explaining these options “helps customers discover how to achieve their dream interiors while being environmentally responsible,” Tanahil said.
Textron Aviation Citation XLS Gen2
Meanwhile, Bombardier’s Cassia said that “commercial aviation customers are becoming more aware of and demanding that more commercial airlines use sustainable materials in their cabin designs,” the manufacturers report. . What’s more, the demand is coming “from customers all over the world,” Tanahil said.
In fact, the increased use of sustainable natural fibers and more conventional wood is creating a “new aesthetic that will appeal to many customers,” Dassault’s Felzer said. “They are happy with their choice of materials and love the feel and overall cabin environment that natural materials allow.”
Additionally, these cabins prove that “sustainability doesn’t mean you have to make any compromises,” Cassia said, adding rapidly renewable wood options and locally sourced wood options for the cabin surfaces. ‘s fiber-based materials are “sustainable as well as comfortable and luxurious.” Equally important for sustainability, he said, they are “often more durable and lighter” than alternative materials and help reduce fuel consumption.
“Sustainability, quality and craftsmanship definitely go hand in hand,” Gulfstream’s Burns echoed. “Natural materials are at their best and usually also the finest.”
The VIP custom interior market is also seeing a demand for sustainability. Airbus Corporate Helicopters (booth Z52, static display AD_03), the brother of VIP aircraft company Airbus Corporate Jets, last year delivered his ACH145 light twin with a “fully vegan” interior. The leather elements are replaced with synthetic ultra leather, which looks, feels and feels like leather, but is not as easy to work with. “We’ve found a practical way to meet our customer’s needs, and it looks great,” says ACH Director Frederic Lemmos.
ACH145 buyer, German entrepreneur Urs Brunner, is married to ethical fashion pioneer Daniela Brunner. Her label does not use any animal products in its products and all her profits go to animal welfare.
Jet Aviation (booth E50) said at its Finished Products Center in Basel, Switzerland, that it is “offering customers a wide range of sustainable options” and “incorporating more sustainable materials into the design of the VVIP cabin”. said Matthew Wollaston, vice president of finished product sales and marketing. Monuments, fixtures, furniture and finishes are all subject to greening.
The company’s latest ‘Mink’ VIP cabin concept includes table parquet made from marble offcuts, complementing natural fiber fabrics and flooring made from recycled materials. Jet Aviation is also focused on reducing emissions by reducing cabin weight and fuel consumption, while engineering and production teams are researching advanced composite materials for interior applications. In the fall, Jet Aviation redelivered its lightest and quietest aircraft to date in pursuit of “a balance between providing our customers with an optimal sound experience and reducing cabin weight.”
For the upcoming BBJ777X, which has the largest interior among mass-produced aircraft for the business aviation market, Greenpoint Technologies (booth A72), a Boeing completion specialist based in the United States, recently incorporated many sustainable and biocompatible designs. introduced a “Zen” interior design concept. element.
Throughout the interior, glass-enclosed jewel box gardens with atmospheric climate controls are planted with organic plants and pebbles. According to Greenpoint, bringing these elements into the cabin raises awareness of sustainability and sustainable material options, while also creating a “healthier cabin and a meditative space that promotes a connection with nature. environment” is created.
The Zen interior concept also uses recycled walnut veneer, natural recycled fabrics and leather designed to be lightweight and environmentally friendly. The company says the leather, once an “unsuitable, unsustainable or unavailable” material, is being transformed by technology into an “increasingly lighter and greener” option for cabin interiors. It is said that
Greenpoint Technologies has created a ‘Zen’ interior design for the vast amount of space available inside the VIP version of the Boeing 777X. Plants help provide a healthier environment.
MRO and completion specialist Lufthansa Technik (booth H72) has recently introduced innovations such as its ultra-thin curved OLED screen that saves weight and energy, adding sustainable materials to its list of options for VIP interiors. bottom. AeroFlax, one of the German company’s latest products, is a flax-based alternative material for glass or carbon fiber parts, such as sidewalls and ceiling panels, that is 20% lighter than glass or carbon, and has a lower density and is desirable for mechanical applications. characteristics. Used for aircraft interiors.
AeroFlax from Lufthansa Technik is a flax-based alternative material for side wall and ceiling panels that offers a 20% weight savings compared to glass or carbon.
Sustainable interiors are not only good for the environment, but also reduce costs through the use of renewable and locally sourced materials with minimal processing and reduced transportation costs. But the real payoff is “avoiding emissions and waste through the wise choice of more sustainable materials, which ultimately benefits us and the planet,” says Bombardier. concluded Mr. Cassia.