These 7 Aircraft Cabin Innovations Aim To Make Flying Better
The Crystal Cabin Award 2025 ceremony took place during the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg this week. It rewards cabin innovations in seven categories that will improve air travel, making it more pleasant, accessible and sustainable.
This year's winners included Collins Aerospace, Cathay Pacific, Safran Cabin, Diehl Aviation and Tongji University.
'The finalists of the Crystal Cabin Award 2025 impressively demonstrate the high level of innovation within our industry – and the diverse ways we can enhance the passenger experience for everyone,' said Ralf Gust, President of the Crystal Cabin Awards Association. 'The winning concepts show that it's no longer just about comfort – it's about personal relevance, technological intelligence and social responsibility.'
Collins Aerospace's 'galley.ai' system combines AI and sensors in the galley to simplify in-flight meal service and galley maintenance. The system tracks orders and galley inventory in real-time, offering passengers meal service updates throughout the flight while reducing cabin crew workload.
Cathay Pacific's 'Gallery in the Skies' turns the aircraft cabin into an airborne art gallery. The airline showcases 30 works by Hong Kong artists, with one work of art installed on retrofitted aircraft. Hong Kong art experts Dr Henrietta Tsui-Leung and Alan Lo helped curate the art display. Installing anything on an airplane, including works of art, requires that elements be certified for structural impact and flammability. Each piece in Cathay's art collection features aviation-grade canvas.
Cathay Pacific earned two awards this year for its cabin innovations.
Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suite introduces a new In-Flight Entertainment and Control system that gives passengers unique control over their cabin environment. Passengers can manage lighting and seat position and communicate with the crew through pre-set 'Activity Modes' accessible via the In-Flight Entertainment screen, handset, seat control display, or remote. The new cabin interface also gives passengers in all cabin classes a clear view of lavatory availability from their seats.
This Internet of Things solution simplifies aircraft interior maintenance by processing real-time cabin data from sensors installed in seats, bins, galleys and other interiors structures onboard. The system detects issues and notifies airline operators of trouble through a digital portal so they can coordinate necessary repairs. Among other passenger benefits, this means less probability of flying on a seat with a malfunctioning in-flight entertainment system.
The ECO Bin is the world's first fully recyclable overhead stowage compartment. Airlines and manufacturers have been looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint, but because of the types of materials required to pass regulatory certification, aircraft interior components are difficult to recycle. The Diehl ECO Bin is made from a lightweight thermoplastic sandwich material, which also reduces fuel consumption, meeting airlines' targets for lower emissions while complying with aviation safety standards.
Diehl also took two awards this year.
The 'Space³' is an accessible cabin lavatory design that offers passengers with reduced mobility more independence. It has wide doors, foldable sinks, and a unique sliding mat system, which makes it easier for passengers to use the facilities in-flight, even without assistance.
To encourage future aviation engineers and designers, the Crystal Cabin Awards also has a university category that recognizes visionary innovations which may not yet be ready for take-off but are still worthwhile.
This year's winner was developed by a team from Tongji University through a collaboration with Boeing. The 'Ultra-lightweight Display System' envisions in-flight entertainment transmitted through compact projectors instead of seatback screens. Passengers could control the system through gesture recognition or using their personal electronic devices. The projectors would be installed in the Passenger Service Unit overhead, and content would beam to tray tables, windows, or cabin partitions. The developers included a way to avoid the image skipping around during turbulence. Eliminating in-flight entertainment hardware would reduce aircraft weight significantly, saving fuel while freeing up space in the cabin.
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