february-2012

34
CABIN INTERIOR
on-time, on-quality delivery of equipment to the Airbus fi nal assembly
lines. Th e new SFE approach moves the programme management
responsibility to Airbus.”
Airlines have not been as receptive to the single galley concept as hoped,
claims a source. Nonetheless, Airbus is now understood to be eyeing more
standard seating options for the A320.
Speaking from “a purely operational standpoint”, B/E Aerospace’s Plant
says he understands why airframers want to award bigger work packages
to fewer and fewer players. “Th e thing that concerns me and the thing that
is missing in that is that it doesn’t tend to lead to a greater variety of choices
or greater innovation or greater product diff erentiation. At the end of the
day, if they push out a bunch of aeroplanes that are essentially the same,
I’m not sure they’ll sell as many of them. I think that is something they
have to watch and balance. We’re watching it closely,” he says.
Doria De Chiara, business development manager for seat maker Geven,
warns that most airlines will not accept standard seats “unless they
get something out of it; unless it’s cheap and [they] can get it tomorrow.
Otherwise they won’t. So it could be that they [airframers] adopt an
approach like car manufacturers that have a special series with a designer
interior – something to make it appealing. Otherwise, what’s the benefi t?”
CONTROLLED GROWTH
Even as airframers press airlines to adhere to more limited SFE catalogues,
airlines are pushing back with demands for greater choice, and the ability
FEBRUARY 2012
DIFFERENT STROKES.
Airlines expect to be
able to differentiate their
cabins with different
colours, fabrics, seat
architecture and
technology
to have potentially disruptive technology –
including new infl ight connectivity systems,
wireless IFE or integrated IFE/seats – installed
linefi t at the factory.
One need look no further than carriers like
Virgin America or fl ydubai to see that the whole
cabin interior of single-aisle aircraft is becoming
more and more competitive, and that the level of
diff erentiation being demanded today is where
long-range aircraft used to be 10 years ago.
It’s “generally more challenging” to bring new
equipment to the A320 or 737 because airframers
“are so sensitive to do anything that taxes the
[production] rates”, says Panasonic Avionics
CEO Paul Margis.
Consequently, the pace of change for
industrial design is outpacing the supply chain.
“Th e IFE experience is still far from what
passengers are used to on the ground,” notes
Alitalia’s Cicala.
Alan Pellegrini, managing director of the
Th ales infl ight entertainment business, believes
that the capacity constraints in the industry
aff ect the seat suppliers more than they do IFE.
“Because of the added integration with seat
suppliers that our competition [Panasonic]
now has and we have with our AVANT IFE
product, it makes it very challenging on them
[seat makers]. Th is is by no means a criticism
of B/E, Recaro or [Zodiac’s] Weber unit which,
by the way, work very closely with us and have
been very good. Th at said, they have enormous
work on their plate. It’s easier for them to not
introduce new things to keep their own supply
chain smooth,” says Pellegrini.
“We get pushed by our customers to
introduce new technology on a regular basis.
So we have to fi nd a balancing act with our seat
suppliers. Our relationship with the Big Th ree
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