HAECO Cabin Solutions and Diehl Aviation have co-developed three new cabin upgrade options for narrowbody aircraft, all designed to reduce weight, increase capacity, and improve passenger comfort. The upgrades are the result of a cooperation between the companies announced last year.
The first product, the Aft-Simplex, is a simplified aft-lavatory/galley complex that can enable up to six additional seats to be fitted in a single-aisle cabin. Whether to lower operating costs or increased range, weight is a crucial consideration for narrowbody operators, and thus weight efficiency has been a key design consideration in the Aft-Simplex, across its four available configurations. HAECO and Diehl say the complex is at least 70kg (155 lbs) lighter than many comparable units and that, when installed in combination with HAECO’s Vector Light economy-class seats, overall aircraft weight is reduced by up to 800kg.
The second product to be revealed is a combination of HAECO’s Eclipse seat (a long-haul premium economy/short-haul business class model) and a unique floor-to-floor solution designed by Diehl. The combination enables the Eclipse seat to be installed in a five-abreast configuration across the aisle without, say the partners, compromising passenger comfort or privacy.
The third product is an enlarged overhead bin designed for the Boeing 737. The design allows the bin to be installed without modifying the aircraft structure or PSU interfaces, and again weight has been minimised.
“The cooperation and synergies we have had with HAECO developing these enhanced cabin products has been tremendous,” said Holger Hafner, SVP of upgrade solutions with Diehl Aviation. “Anytime you’re able to improve the overall passenger experience while improving aircraft operating economics it is a win-win.”
The new products will be on show at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany next week (June 14-16) at the HAECO (6A01) and Diehl (7D20) booths.
