Hot Topic: Aircraft Interiors To Be Biggest Yet!

Mark April 17, 18, & 19, and plan to be in Hamburg, Germany for the 2007 Aircraft Interiors Expo. Looking to be the biggest yet, AIE will be housed in the new, 32,000 square meter, Messe Exposition Center. The show covers almost every aspect of interior product and service representation, from amenity kits to upgrades - AIE has it all under one roof! This year they have booked over 500 exhibits. In 2006, some 150 airlines were in attendance and we expect even more this year...especially from the Middle East and Asia. Where can you meet so many of your airline customers on one trip? Airbus and Boeing will be presenting new cabin design concepts (Tuesday afternoon) and a new Aircraft Electrical and Electronic Systems Expo Zone has been set up to cover "bread & butter" topics like power supplies and interior design and equipment challenges. This year will also bring a new set of awards for the best in cabin innovation from the city of Hamburg called Crystal Cabin Awards - nice touch!

And while you are there, don't miss Panasonic's "cool room" - this is the first time there for some incredible technology you may eventually see on a future flight and Panasonic was kind enough to share a few secrets. The products they show in the cool room are future concepts used at tradeshows as a forum to gage airline interest in these products. Paul Margis, President, gave the insider perspective: "We will show a commercially viable, universal laptop docking system called "Touch Tray" that could be used to connect a travelers laptop to the in-seat system. Using the in-seat display and a specialized food tray, the seat becomes a comfortable office. Another concept your readers might enjoy is the Disposable Wireless Remote. It is so named because it is inexpensive to manufacture and contains no hazardous waste (such as batteries). It is one solution to the problems of cost, weight and installation complexities associated with todays peripherals. Panasonic is synonymous with innovations in technology. Our "cool room" was created to bring the latest cool concepts in their embryonic state to our customers to engage their feedback.

Well readers, that sums up this show perfectly... what more can we say but check out the website and we'll see you there.