Crystal Cabin Awards trophies on display

Press Release: Crystal Cabin Award: Winners to be announced in 2021

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Press Release hub banner blue with title in red white and blueThe awards ceremony for the 14th Crystal Cabin Awards in Hamburg, originally planned for 1 April 2020, has been rescheduled for 13 April 2021. This has been decided by the Crystal Cabin Award Association in close consultation with the independent 27-person expert jury.

Crystal Cabin Award finalists from 2020 are still in the running 

The Crystal Cabin Award, presented in eight categories to aircraft manufacturers, suppliers, airlines and universities, is the most coveted quality seal in the international aviation industry. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards ceremony for the premier global prize for aircraft cabin innovation at an exclusive gala dinner in Hamburg could not take place this year, along with the world’s leading trade show for the industry, the Aircraft Interiors Expo, which would normally have been held in Hamburg at the same time.

Competition for a place in the finals was tougher than ever in 2020. Some 105 shortlisted entries were viewed and evaluated by the jury of international experts, a record in the fourteen-year history of the Crystal Cabin Award.

The Crystal Cabin Award ceremony will now take place in Hamburg on 13 April 2021 with all 24 finalists still in the running. They will have the chance to prove themselves in a presentation to the expert jury the day before.

Special post-Covid-19 category dedicated to safe and hygienic travel 

Current global developments will also be reflected, with a special trophy in 2021 for concepts related to hygiene in the aircraft cabin, even though experts are agreed that the risk of infection with pathogens such as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on board an aircraft is very low. One of the reasons for this low risk is the high performance of particle filters that continually cleanse cabin air of dust, bacteria and viruses.

For several years already, the Crystal Cabin Award has functioned as a barometer, indicating innovations with the potential to improve health protection and safety. In 2016, for example, Boeing’s self-cleaning toilet was a finalist. In 2017, American start-up GermFalcon made it to the final round with a UV trolley that disinfected the cabin as it passed through. Don’t let contamination happen in the first place.

An interdisciplinary project team made up of members of the Crystal Cabin Award judging panel will determine the details of the special category over the course of the summer. The submission phase will start on 1 October 2020, and the winner will be announced at the public awards ceremony on 13 April 2021. In addition, it is planned to have a further stage for showcasing recent innovations from the field of the existing award categories in 2021. The detailed specifications for this will as well be a discussion point in the judging panel’s working group.

The innovations of the year for the aircraft cabin – the whole world is watching Hamburg on 13 March.

The Crystal Cabin Award, an initiative of cluster Hamburg Aviation, is presented in eight categories: Cabin Concepts, Cabin Systems, IFEC, Greener Cabin, Health, Safety and Environment, Material & Components, Passenger Comfort Hardware, University, and Visionary Concepts. And in 2021, there will be the mentioned special category as well.

An overview of current finalists: 

Cabin Concepts

  • The Boeing Company (cooperation partner Teague) 777X Sky Architecture
  • Eviation & Almadesign ALICE
  • Virgin Atlantic (cooperation partners AIM Altitude, Factorydesign, Boltaron, Isovolta, Mankiewicz UK & F.H.Lambert) Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Loft 

Cabin Systems

  • Safran Cabin SOPHYTM, The Smart Trolley Solution
  • SFS Intec GmbH Aircraft Components & jetlite GmbH lite2fix 
  • SITAONAIR Next Gen Connectivity Mobile ONAIR 4G 

Greener Cabin, Health, Safety & Environment

  • ATR (cooperation partner Bacqueyrisses) AudioBack®
  • Diehl Aviation Greywater Reuse Unit
  • PriestmanGoode Zero – economy meal tray 

IFEC

  • JetBlue Airways (cooperation partners Thales Avionics, Spafax, Viasat & Astronics) The Multi-Screen Experience 
  • Safran Passenger Solutions RAVE Bluetooth
  • Spafax (cooperation partner Air Canada) Spafax IQ: The IFEC industry’s leading data analytics platform

Material & Components

  • Diehl Aerospace Experience Line BRIDGE
  • e2ip technologies (cooperation partner National Research Council of Canada) In-Mold Electronics (IME) A Paradigm Shift In Manufacturing And Design
  • Schott AG (cooperation partner PriestmanGoode) The new SCHOTT® Jade reading light 

Passenger Comfort Hardware

  • Adient Aerospace SFA (Space For All)
  • Ciara Crawford Row 1 Aircraft Wheelchair 
  • Safran Seats (cooperation partner ENCSi) Modulair S 

University

  • Delft University of Technology (cooperation partner KLM) Collapsible beds for the Flying V
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences Isotravel: The ISOFIX-Adapter for Aircraft Passenger Seats
  • University of Cincinnati (cooperation partners The Boeing Company and The Live Well Collaborative) Coffee House Cabin 

Visionary Concepts

  • AIM Altitude ARCA – Galley System
  • Airbus Operations GmbH Airspace Cabin Vision 2030
  • AirGo Design Galaxy: Flatbed for A321 

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Respected industry award — respected industry support 

Airbus, Aircraft Cabin Management, Aircraft Interiors Expo (Reed Exhibitions), Aircraft Interiors International Magazine, Ameco Beijing, APEX, ATR, Bluebox Aviation Systems LTD, The Boeing Company, Boltaron Inc. – A SIMONA Company, Collins Aerospace, Diehl Aviation, Etihad Aviation Group, FERCHAU AVIATION Division, FIT AG – Additive Manufacturing Group, Flightchic, Flightglobal, Future Travel Experience, Hamburg Aviation, Hamburg Invest, Inflight Magazine, Jetliner Cabins, jetlite, RedCabin, Runway Girl Network, SEKISUI SPI, TSI Seats and Vartan Aviation Group.

About the Crystal Cabin Award

The Crystal Cabin Award is THE international prize for innovation in the aircraft cabin. A high-calibre jury made up of renowned academics, engineers, specialist journalists and airline and aircraft manufacturer representatives comes together under the slogan “Let your ideas take off” to honour extraordinary cabin concepts and products. The competition was launched by Hamburg Aviation and is organised by the