Aircraft and Rail: The inside line on what to expect in 2024

2023 was a year of inno­va­tion and col­lab­o­ra­tion, bring­ing togeth­er indus­try experts from across the globe to dis­cuss how cab­in inte­ri­ors for both rail and air trav­el can evolve in 2024.

Fol­low­ing atten­dance at three suc­cess­ful Red­Cab­in sum­mits in 2023, it was clear that the con­ver­sa­tions are very much alive in how to con­tin­ue improv­ing the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence. At events in Salt Lake City, Seat­tle and Vien­na, key themes and areas for pro­gres­sion have come to the fore, with inno­va­tions includ­ing:

Man­u­fac­tur­ing

Air­lines are increas­ing­ly focus­ing on cab­in design, and there is a very real desire to make air­craft cab­ins feel more home­ly, more com­fort­able and more respon­sive to cus­tomer wants and needs, along­side a desire to improve the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence by way of “low-risk” adap­ta­tions.

With sev­er­al ideas around low-risk changes that would make a big impact on trav­ellers, with the upgrad­ing of lava­to­ries, bins/PSUs and gal­leys raised as areas where more flex­i­bil­i­ty is required. Sug­ges­tions for tech­no­log­i­cal advance­ments include bet­ter con­nec­tiv­i­ty and flight atten­dant pan­el soft­ware, with onboard lounges and bars also raised as a future pos­si­ble
addi­tion to cab­ins.

Acces­si­bil­i­ty

Improve­ments con­tin­ue to be made to acces­si­bil­i­ty with­in the cab­in in the inter­ests of peo­ple with reduced mobil­i­ty, or those with visu­al or audi­to­ry impair­ments. The spe­cif­ic needs and require­ments of less able pas­sen­gers will con­tin­ue to be a key part of the inno­va­tion process.

Mak­ing cab­ins acces­si­ble for all trav­ellers is an ongo­ing pri­or­i­ty for the indus­try, with the need for inno­va­tion reflect­ed in the Vien­na summit’s sur­vey results. With one in four peo­ple in the Unit­ed States hav­ing some form of dis­abil­i­ty, the require­ment to update cab­ins is clear. Ded­i­cat­ed acces­si­ble stor­age, more acces­si­ble lava­to­ries and greater use of dis­play and audio tech­nol­o­gy to cre­ate effec­tive audio and visu­al announce­ments were also high­light­ed as indus­try pri­or­i­ties.

Sus­tain­abil­i­ty

The indus­try has now ful­ly embraced the impor­tance of cre­at­ing a more sus­tain­able future. This top­ic appeared in numer­ous dis­cus­sions, with lead­ers from the entire indus­try ask­ing ques­tions about what the next steps are for the indus­try, and how best to approach them.

Weight reduc­tion of prod­ucts is often the first solu­tion for man­u­fac­tur­ers. While this does inevitably increase sus­tain­abil­i­ty – reduc­ing fuel con­sump­tion for exam­ple – this does not con­sid­er the man­u­fac­tur­ing process itself, nor the mate­ri­als used.

The indus­try is on the cusp of a new gen­er­a­tion of rail inno­va­tion with sus­tain­abil­i­ty a key con­sid­er­a­tion, along­side pas­sen­ger com­fort and con­trol.

What comes next?

How­ev­er, with col­lab­o­ra­tion between indus­try play­ers on the rise, so were con­ver­sa­tions on the obsta­cles experts face when seek­ing to improve the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence.

Com­plex reg­u­la­tions and lack of space (inc. seat­ing layout/design) were recog­nised as areas to be addressed, with ded­i­cat­ed mod­ules for work, social­is­ing, and relax­ation and light­ing designed with the pas­sen­ger in mind both select­ed as need­ing inno­va­tion in 2024 and beyond.

Ulti­mate­ly, dis­cus­sions in inno­va­tion will always come back to the pas­sen­ger expe­ri­ence. It comes down to a ques­tion of com­pro­mise and whether pas­sen­gers will either increase their spend, or reduce their expec­ta­tion in terms of cab­in fea­tures in the name of enhanced sus­tain­abil­i­ty and acces­si­bil­i­ty.

This ques­tion remains an impor­tant one for the indus­try to focus on as the year pro­gress­es.