From a gigantic airship and a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft to innovative new seats, IFEC, and lavatory concepts, the short-list for the 2014 Crystal Cabin Awards has it all.

Familiar names like Acro, B/E Aerospace, Lumexis and Panasonic Avionics have made the short-list, as have some lesser-known entities. All hope to win a coveted CCA international prize for aircraft interiors innovation.

French company Octuri’s colossal ‘Flying Yacht’ for scenic flights will doubtlessly put a smile on your face. The lower wall of the cabin would be made of transparent polycarbonate sheets, giving all 40 passengers a 360-degree view, according to the firm.

Meanwhile, a student from the Netherlands has created a sketch of travel in 2050 on board a BWB aircraft, combining psychological insights with technological developments (see pictures below).

The wide range of submissions impressed the pre-selection committee.

Some concepts were submitted from state-sponsored research projects, “a sign that research in the field of civil aviation has become prize-worthy”, says the CCA association.

Underscoring the importance of IFEC to the passenger experience, the association notes that plenty of the products and concepts submitted “are going to please those passengers who prefer to pass their time using the electronic onboard entertainment”.

There is, for example, an open inflight entertainment and communications platform which interacts both with third-party applications and with passengers’ own devices, providing access to a wider selection of films, games, and apps.

The international jury of 25 experts is now evaluating all accepted entries so that the finalists for the seven categories can be nominated a few weeks before the Aircraft Interiors Expo in April. The winners will be crowned, as they are every year, in association with the Expo.

See pictures of just some of the short-listed submissions below.