The Crystal Cabin Awards are the world’s most prestigious and hotly contested prizes for innovation in aircraft cabins and passenger comfort. Companies, institutions and students that believe they have an winning idea or design can now make a submission for entry into the 2024 awards.
Across the eight awards categories, there is a focused area (and strong competition) for any passenger experience. The eight Crystal Cabin Award categories are as follows:
- Cabin Concepts. This category rewards holistic cabin concepts. Designs already in use or nearing market launch are eligible, as are visionary ideas for the future. The Cabin Concepts category is aimed at manufacturers as well as design companies and airlines.
- Cabin Systems. This category collates innovative products that provide operators such as airlines with a significant advantage in terms of operation or efficiency. Examples include galleys, toilet systems, trolleys, air conditioning systems, and seats. A major consideration in this category is efficiency aspects, such as weight and space utilisation.
- IFEC & Digital Services. This category recognises advances in digital solutions for passengers, such as inflight entertainment (IFE) systems, IFE content delivery, passenger apps, streaming IFE and inflight connectivity (IFC), all the way to antennas and connected cabins. Entries must demonstrate technological superiority over competing products.
- Health & Safety. This category considers innovation in cabin concepts and products that benefit safety, security, health and hygiene on board, or improve the physical well-being of passengers. Entries may focus on passengers, crew or cargo.
- Material & Components. This category recognises new materials and applications in the cabin that reduce costs and increase usability. A variety of different aircraft components or materials may be submitted, but not a fully developed product such as a seat.
- Passenger Comfort. Entries in this category must demonstrate how they improve passenger comfort in the cabin. Innovations that benefit a large group of people may be rated higher because they have a greater impact on airline success. This category includes anything from seats, toilets, storage, partitions, lighting solutions, trim and finish, to premium and business products, first class and VIP products, to name but a few.
- Sustainable Cabin. The aviation industry is committed to becoming emissions-free within the next 30 years. This requires a high level of innovation covering every aspect of aviation, including the cabin and passenger experience. Customers are also becoming increasingly sensitive to travel sustainability issues, requiring operators to take action and provide solutions that are closely aligned to this growing trend. This is reflected in the Sustainable Cabin category, which rewards contributions with a demonstrable effect on the environmental impact of aviation.
- University. The University category gives students the chance to present forward-looking products and ideas for the aircraft cabin, and to establish contacts within the industry. The concepts submitted should make flying more comfortable, intelligent, or lessen its ecological footprint.
Winners in 2023 included Air New Zealand, Collins Aerospace, Thales Avionics, Lantal Textiles, Teledyne Controls, Thales Avionics and TU Delft. If you want to be considered for the 2024 awards, the application form, conditions of entry, and more details of the Crystal Cabin Award categories can be found at www.crystal-cabin-award.com. The closing date for entries is 17 January 2024.
Entrants will again have the opportunity to take advantage of an Early Bird rate. Entrants who submit their application by 17 December 2023 are eligible for a reduced entry fee of €250 (plus 19% VAT for EU entries). After that, the submission fee €360. Students applying in the University category are exempt from submission fees.
After the deadline, an international jury of nearly 30 aviation experts will discuss the entries and, undertake an initial voting round, and then select three finalists for each of the eight categories. After a final round of presentations and voting, the judges will select the winners. The winners will be announced on 28 May 2024, during Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany.
About the Crystal Cabin Award
The Crystal Cabin Award is the biggest international prize for innovation in the aircraft cabin. The competition was launched by Hamburg Aviation and is organised by the Crystal Cabin Award Association. At the heart of the award is a high-calibre jury made up of renowned academics, engineers, specialist journalists, and airline and aircraft manufacturer representatives, who come together to honour extraordinary cabin concepts and products. The awards have been presented at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg every year since 2007.
