Following the reveal of the new cabin designs for El Al’s forthcoming fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, AIM Altitude, the manufacturer of the front-row monuments, has revealed a few further details about their work.
A team of four main designers from AIM Altitude worked in conjunction with the design teams from Recaro, PriestmanGoode and the airline to help ensure that the creative intent of all parties was met in terms of aesthetics, finish and function. A further challenge was that the teams had just 16 months to complete the whole project, from the initial technical coordination meeting, to the first article inspection.
The front-row monuments for the Door 1 area have been designed to be integrated with the first row of Recaro CL6710 business class seats, providing the footwell ottoman area, sliding tray table and IFE monument attachments. A lot of work went into ensuring that the style of the Recaro seats was continued throughout the monument design, to provide a smooth and cohesive look. The front-row monuments also conceal a range of half carts, standard containers and emergency equipment, hidden behind the main compartment doors.
“What makes this build different”, explained Darren Nicholas, lead engineer at AIM Altitude Cabin Interiors, “is the seamless transition from seat to front-row monument. This provides functionality for the passengers, whilst also delivering a wider footwell space. We also managed to integrate additional forward stowages into the design.”
Brand values
The distinctive diamond-patterned branding panels on the front monuments feature the EL AL logo, which was no simple task as the panels require a two-tone finish and have to be shaped to match the curved diamond profiles. To ensure quality and repeatability, the operations team at AIM Altitude worked with their supply base to ensure that the required high level of finish could be generated in serial production. With passengers likely to be drawn to the tactile logo, AIM Altitude has even ensured that the logo badging can be easily interchanged with a replacement, should any damage occur.
