Lufthansa Technik (LHT, Booth 2632) comes to NBAA fresh from making a splash at the Monaco Yacht Show where it unveiled the results of its collaboration with Mercedes-Benz on VIP narrowbody aircraft cabins. What was first revealed as a VIP lounge area at EBACE last year has now become a whole-aircraft design concept, according to Wieland Timm, LHT v-p sales for VIP and special mission aircraft.
“It’s really high end and moves the boundaries in terms of cabin design,” Timm told AIN. In particular, he pointed out how the design is seamless between the floor, walls and ceiling, eliminating the typical visible joins–something he said was a particular challenge for the engineers. “This has never been done before so it took a lot of knowledge and new ideas.”
The initial designs are for Airbus ACJ320 and Boeing BBJ cabins, but LHT said it can be extended to any bizliner cabin, with the ACJ350 being one it has focused on in particular.
“The colors are based on the [Mercedes] S-Class and Maybach cars,” said Timm, who added that visitors to NBAA 2016 can see the designs through virtual reality googles at the company’s booth.
“From a market perspective, there are a lot of people that are stepping for the first time into private aircraft and they are very design and brand focused,” said Timm. “Mercedes-Benz is really the number-one car brand in the world.” While the Mercedes-Benz branding means it is likely to appeal to those with other Mercedes-branded products, ranging from cars to helicopters and boats, it could also attract government/head of state-type customers, he added. The approach could also prove particularly attractive in markets such as China, Timm said.
“We started with the first design concept at EBACE 2015 and we’ve taken one year to get the whole concept for the whole floorplan and all the specification. It’s taken lots of engineering hours and talking to the aviation authority,” according to Timm.
The lead time on a design for a customer would be around 10 months, he estimated, with another eight to 10 months’ production time, depending on the size of the aircraft. For example, Timm said, the BBJ Max 9 has a longer fuselage so the design time would take longer.
