On 28-30 May, the aviation and aircraft interiors industry presents its vision for the future of flight at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany. Over 450 exhibitors – including some of the world’s biggest aviation companies – offer an exciting preview of the future of air travel.
“Hamburg’s aviation community is excited to welcome the world’s leading cabin pioneers to AIX 2024,” comments Ralf Gust, Managing Director of Hamburg Aviation. “AIX is a unique opportunity for industry leaders to connect, share advancements, and drive future growth. The strong presence of our members highlights Hamburg’s pivotal role in the aviation industry. It not only reinforces our region’s reputation for excellence but also underscores our commitment to pioneering sustainable solutions in aircraft interiors,” Gust adds.
“AIX and the Crystal Cabin Awards (CCA) are both synonymous with innovation, creativity, and excellence in the aircraft interiors industry,” explains Polly McGraw, Event Director Aircraft Interiors Expo and World Travel Catering & Onboard Services. “For one week, airlines, designers, engineers, specifiers, and manufacturers come together to celebrate the huge strides that are being made in the cabin to enhance passenger experience and create the cabin concepts for the future. We are immensely proud that the Crystal Cabin Award runs alongside AIX and extend our congratulations to all the companies shortlisted for 2024. We look forward to discovering who will win the top accolades this year and to uncovering the innovative solutions that will undoubtedly inspire future entries.”
Hamburg’s aviation cluster is home to global industry leaders and a wealth of innovation SMEs, many showcasing their latest innovations at Aircraft Interiors Expo. At Booth 5A20, Airbus is showcasing its Airspace Cabin Vision 2035+, a new concept that prioritises sustainability while offering superior levels of comfort. The Airspace Cabin Vision 2035+ is a finalist entry in this year’s Crystal Cabin Award, presented live on 28 May at Hamburg’s prestigious Chambers of Commerce venue.
Headquartered in Hamburg, the world’s leading maintenance and customisation service supplier Lufthansa Technik presents new innovations at Stand 6B80. Among them is a new ultra-spacious cabin concept heads of state and “VVIPs” called Celestial Star, as well as AeroSHARK, a surface film applied to the outside of aircraft that mimics the flow-optimizing characteristics of sharkskin, and reduces drag during the flight to save CO-2 emissions.
Diehl Aviation is among the leading cabin experience innovators in aviation today. Visitors to its expanded booth – adding 100 m² at AIX 2024 – can expect interactive exhibits of the highest quality, providing insights into functionality and concepts, as well as highlighting the benefits for passengers, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers. The booth will feature one of AIX 2024’s most anticipated attractions: the Future Cabin. With this comprehensive cabin offering, Diehl Aviation provides a sneak peek into the future of passenger cabins, affirming the company as the premier partner for realizing its customers’ visionary aspirations.
Among Hamburg’s leading innovators is AERQ, a joint venture of Lufthansa Technik and LG Electronics. AERQ’s open IT platform AERENA, supported by a state-of-the-art cloud-based infrastructure, boosts digital cabin innovations throughout the travel journey and facilitates greater passenger engagement onboard the aircraft. The company is celebrating the market entry of the AERENA inseat system with Discover Airlines in March 2024; vistors to its booth can enjoy a demo of the new system at Booth 4C20 in the IFEC Zone.
Crystal Cabin Awards 2024: Honouring Innovation
Hamburg is home to the world’s leading industry award honouring innovation in cabin interiors, the Crystal Cabin Award. Presented on the opening day of AIX, the award is among the most keenly anticipated events in the aviation industry’s calendar. 25 entries are vying for the world’s premier award in passenger experience across eight categories, submitted by leading names such as Japan Air Lines, Recaro Aircraft Seating, Airbus, Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Safran, Accenture and many more. Media representatives wishing to attend the event should contact Angus Baigent using the contact details below. The winners will present their innovations to trade show visitors on Wednesday, 29 May at 2pm in Cabin Space Live, Hall B1 (Lower). Visit the Crystal Cabin Award in Hall 6 (6E80-D).
The Hamburg Lounge: A place for business
The Hamburg Lounge is the joint stand of the Hamburg Aviation cluster network and the SME association Hanse-Aerospace. At Stand 6B90 in Hall 6, members of the two organisations have space to meet with business partners in a relaxed atmosphere. In addition, show visitors can find out more about the unique structure of the Hamburg aviation cluster.
Aircraft Interiors Expo // World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo // Passenger Experience Conference // IFEC Zone
Aircraft Interiors Expo is part of an intergrated event series encompassing all essential elements of passengers’ experience onboard an aircraft and the industries serving them. Passenger Experience Conference is a one-day event hosted at Hamburg Messe the day before AIX, this year on 27 May. The series of talks and panel discussions generates conversations about important aspects of cabin interiors and offers new insights in some of the industry’s leading topics looking forward, including connectivity, accessibility and sustainability. IFEC Zone showcases the latest advance in inflight connectivity and entertainment in Halls B2-B4, bringing together the industry’s major players and presenting the latest digital tools, connectivity solutions and content services. CabinSpace Live is an industry-leading seminar programme providing insights from industry thought leaders around crucial developments for the future of the cabin interiors industry. Running parallel to AIX, the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services show is the leading global event for inflight catering, onboard services and passenger comfort. The Taste of Travel Theatre is the heart if WTCE, and provides a line-up of expert advisors, chefs and consultants in daily sessions designed to help visitors understand industry trends.
About Hamburg Aviation
With more than 40,000 highly qualified professionals, Hamburg Aviation is one of the largest sites for civil aviation worldwide. In addition to the two industry giants Airbus and Lufthansa Technik as well as Hamburg Airport, more than 300 suppliers and diverse technological and scientific institutions contribute to the cluster’s world-class expertise. To support and promote the cluster, enterprises, universities, associations, policy makers and other partners have joined forces to form Hamburg Aviation. Together, they pursue one goal: to bring high-quality products and services for the aviation of the future to the market through networked research and development, which are good for passengers and set standards in terms of resource protection. In 2008, Hamburg’s aviation cluster was named a top cluster by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Since 2014, Hamburg Aviation has been awarded the GOLD label as one of Europe’s best-managed clusters by the European Commission’s ECEI initiative. In 2016, the “Land of Ideas” initiative named the Hamburg Aviation network one of the “100 Excellent Places” in Germany.
Featured image credited to Airbus
