We’ve seen a lot of new product refreshes – within the last year American Airlines debuted their new Boeing 787-9 business class and their Airbus A321XLR. United Airlines introduced their new 787-9 Polaris cabin. Delta just announced new business products on its Airbus A350-1000 and a better – but 9 year old seat – for their Airbus A330s. This is a very competitive business, and Air Canada’s new cabins look fantastic.

From video, imagery and descriptions it’s clear that the details matter. Air Canada doesn’t just lead with product attributes like bed size, they highlight “red stitching and bespoke fabrics provide a subtle Canadian touch paired with a palette of greys and stone.” “Natural wood grain details are complemented by bronze metal accents.” “Leather-grain surfaces and metal finishes.”

This product is about the details in design, and I’m here for it.

Air Canada’s New Boeing 787-10s

Air Canada has a firm order for 14 aircraft, each with 332 seats:

• 42 business class seats (4 of which are ‘Signature Plus Suites’)
• 28 premium economy seats
• 262 economy seats

The business class seat is the Elevate Ascent (née Adient Ascent) used by both their joint venture partner United Airlines for its new Polaris Suite, as well as by Qatar Airways on its Boeing 787-9, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. The differences, then, are in customization.

These feature:

• A 27-inch 4K OLED in-flight entertainment screen with Bluetooth audio.
• A quartzite stone table and a guest seat for visits while at cruising altitude.
• Two centre suites with a fully retractable sliding privacy panel, creating an open social space for up to four (for use at cruise only).
• Seats with multiple high-powered USB-C and AC outlets.

Business class offers what’s become standard for top of the industry products – lie flat direct aisle access with privacy panels, a 19-inch 4K screen with bluetooth, as well as multiple AC and USB-C outlets.

Premium economy Recaro seats have privacy wings creating a sense of separateness from the cabin, since you don’t see your neighbors so much (even if someone walking down the aisle would see you). There are 16-inch 4K entertainment screens with bluetook, AC and USB power, and seat storage as well as bottle holders.

Coach has 13-inch entertainment screens with bluetooh, AC and USB power. The seats have tablet holders.

Air Canada expects their first Boeing 787-10 to enter service by end of the year. As their most premium aircraft we can expect it to fly premium routes, so London Heathrow is a good bet to start.

Air Canada’s New A321XLRs

Air Canada’s order of 30 Airbus A321XLRs will allow narrowbody planes to fly long distances – short transatlantics from the East Coast of Canada (Montreal and Toronto), premium routes across Canada, and between Canada and the United States.

This plane should fly on routes like Montreal and Toronto to Tenerife (a rare winter route to Europe), to Berlin and to Palma de Mallorca. A coming update to the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine should give them additional thrust and range. It will begin by flying transcon routes within Canada.

• 14 business class seats
• 168 coach seats

Business class will offer lie flat seats on the Collins Aurora platform with direct aisle access, one seat on each side of the aisle. These will be suites with privacy panels, along with wireless charging and AC and USB-C power and 19 inch 4K entertainment screens with Bluetooth audio..

There are no doors on the XLR suite. Mark Nasr told me that it’s easier to put the door on, since other airlines already have a door on that seat platform. They had to do additional design and certification work without it – but it gets them a bed that’s 2 inches longer on either side, and the cabin aisle is 5 inches wider at elbow level.

Plus, the oversized Airspace bins come down so far, that the doors can’t be very tall, and don’t provide much privacy.

So while they have the door on the 787-10, and are committed to it for widebodies, they think it’s a better experience without it.

It all comes down to the tradeoff of inches in a narrowbody aircraft – the same reason for the herringbone seat that faces away from the window. I think a door is less important at your feet than it is along your side. But I also prefer the Stelia Opera and Safran Vue seats that give you forward or more traditional window views. They also take up more space in the cabin. I can’t wait to fly the aircraft and see whether I think that the doors are actually a net negative on this plane or not.

This aircraft also won’t have premium economy. Mark Nasr says that the economics of premium economy isn’t going to work as well for this plane, in the markets they’ll be using it. They need to make it work for their network.

While it’s “great transatlantic” they’re also going to be using it on premium cross-country routes within Canada, “some Caribbean and Latin flying,” and while “business class is just as good” on those routes as across the Atlantic, the economic profile for Los Angeles and San Francisco to Toronto as well as premium domestic flying and leisure sun routes won’t work as well.

Nonetheless, having true lie flat business is going to be a strong advantage for one-stop business class. This should help them compete for and grow share in the U.S. transoceanic market.

There will be 36 extra legroom coach seats. Economy seatback screens are 14-inch, with Bluetooth audio. The tray table is bi-fold with built-in tablet holder.

One Easter egg of sorts is an active surface that they’ve installed, using new technology borrowed from the automotive industry. It allows them to broadcast text behind solid surfaces. So the business class seat, in lie flat mode, will reveal a leather, cloth-like surface. When you touch it, it lights up but isn’t very bright (so as not to disturb you as you come out of sleep). It’ll show how long is left in the flight along with other information, and allow you to make seat adjustments. It’s inspired by the four inch panel on the left side of the Qantas A380 first class suite.

They’ll be taking delivery of their first Airbus A321XLR in just over a week, and expect it to enter revenue service by late May.

Credits: Air Canada

The post Air Canada Reveals Stunning New Cabins — What Its COO Told Me About The Design Choices And Fleet Plans first appeared on AircrewNews.com.

With the entry into service of this latest twin-aisle aircraft, EgyptAir is the first airline to fly globally with Panasonic Avionics’ fully integrated in-flight engagement (IFE) interactive design and publishing tool – Modular Interactive (MI).

From today, MI is available across EgyptAir’s new A350-900 fleet as part of a fully integrated Panasonic Avionics IFEC ecosystem. MI is the industry’s first interactive authoring and publishing platform, and is a key part of Panasonic Avionics’ vision to redefine the in-flight experience and integrate IFEC as a third digital channel for airlines. With MI, EgyptAir will be able to update and tailor their in-flight experience quickly and seamlessly.

Designed as a cloud-based platform, MI features a flexible, modular architecture that supports highly configurable layouts, themes, and style elements without the long lead times or high costs typically tied to traditional interactive development and testing. Airlines can use MI Studio to independently define and deploy different design styles, color palettes, branding assets, apps, and service activations, giving them increased autonomy to build and refine new experiences.

Captain Ahmed Adel, Chairman & CEO, EGYPTAIR Holding, stated: “We are proud to introduce a new era of in-flight comfort and entertainment for our passengers. The integration of the Astrova and NEXT systems on our A350-900 ensures that every traveler, whether in Business or Economy class, enjoys world-class connectivity and cinema-quality visuals. From the immersive 3D maps for adults to the ‘Young Explorers’ experience for our junior travelers, we are committed to making every EGYPTAIR flight a memorable one.”

Andrew Mohr, Vice President of Digital Solutions, Panasonic Avionics, said: “We are excited and honored to once again collaborate with EgyptAir. Together our companies will maximize passenger engagement by bringing smarter, more connected in-flight experiences to their passengers.

“By combining our industry leading applications and services with our award-winning IFE platforms and global connectivity, we will deliver a consistent, personalized passenger journey from pre-flight through arrival. We are confident that this powerful new combination of hardware, apps, services and connectivity will drive deeper loyalty, unlock new ancillary revenue opportunities, and enhance operational performance for EGYPTAIR.”

To maximize passenger engagement, EgyptAir’s new A350-900 aircraft also features Panasonic Avionics’ award-winning Arc 3D in-flight map platform. Unlike traditional flight maps that simply present flight information, the new interface highlights three core features: high-resolution 3D visuals, smooth interaction, and immersive engagement.

One of the most distinctive features of EgyptAir’s new 3D flight map is its exclusive Arc for Young Explorers experience. Combining an eye-catching dinosaur theme with real-time flight data, children can enter “dino mode” and explore their flight as a Quetzalcoatlus. The kids’ map will display dinosaurs that once inhabited the regions currently being flown over, letting young passengers learn about each dinosaur’s characteristics, behaviors, and background.

Additionally, EgyptAir is one the first airlines to launch the new Arc Vistas feature, which provides immersive and cinematic views of the world directly from the Arc map 3D engine. Arc Vistas can be accessed interactively by passengers or utilized in a relaxing screen-saver mode. Utilizing Astrova’s 4K, OLED displays and enhanced 3D graphics power, Arc Vistas presents traditional map displays as a stunning new form of inflight engagement.

To enhance revenue generation and passenger engagement, Egyptair has also selected Panasonic Avionics’ in-flight Marketplace solution. Panasonic Avionics’ leading ecommerce platform will be integrated into the IFEC experience, providing a seamless interface with easy navigation for passengers that want to make purchases during their flight.

Each of these unique digital solutions, along with a host of other applications, will be displayed throughout the cabin through Panasonic Avionics’ award winning in-flight engagement systems and supported by truly global connectivity.

In Business Class, the aircraft features Panasonic Avionics’ award-winning Astrova seat-end IFE solution. This delivers a fully immersive experience featuring industry-leading 4K OLED HDR10+ displays that provide stunning, cinema-quality visuals. Bluetooth^®* and wired headsets will offer high-fidelity spatial audio for the best possible listening experience. Astrova will also deliver 67W of USB-C power to enable fast charging of laptops and all other passenger devices.

In Economy Class, passengers benefit from Panasonic Avionics’ NEXT IFE system, offering 4K seatback displays, Bluetooth^®* audio connectivity for personal headphones, and an intuitive user interface that supports fast access to content and services.

The airline’s A350 fleet is also equipped with Panasonic Avionics’ in-flight connectivity solutions via its global Ku-band satellite network. This enables EgyptAir’s passengers to stay connected throughout their journey, while supporting a consistent, end-to-end digital experience onboard.

Notes to Editors
^* The Bluetooth^® word mark is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such mark by Panasonic Avionics Corporation is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

About Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Panasonic Avionics Corporation is the world’s leading supplier of in-flight engagement and communication systems. The company pioneered the industry beginning in 1979 and has consistently introduced innovations that enable unique customer experiences and enhance airline loyalty (NPS), ancillary revenue, and operational efficiency.

Over 200 leading airlines across the world have chosen to install Panasonic Avionics in-flight engagement, satellite Wi-Fi connectivity, and digital solutions on their aircraft. Panasonic Avionics’ proven systems are supported by the largest global support and services team utilizing OEM insights to ensure peak system performance. Using these unique products and services, airlines can seamlessly access up to 1,000 PEMs (passenger engagement minutes) only available in-flight and unlock new tailored, data-driven experiences that enhance passenger satisfaction.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation is headquartered in Irvine, California with over 3,300 employees and operates in 50 locations around the globe.

Credits: Egypt Air

The post EgyptAir’s New A350-900 To Feature In-Flight Engagement And Digital Solutions From Panasonic Avionics first appeared on AircrewNews.com.