March 16, 2007 – CHARLATANS used to claim that the future could be seen in their crystal balls. At next month’s Aircraft Interiors show in Hamburg the new Crystal Cabin awards are expected to provide a much more reliable indication of what’s going to happen in IFE, passenger communications and cabin systems.

Launched last autumn (Inflight Online, November 3) by the Hamburg Business Development Corporation, the awards are intended to recognise excellence in cabin interior products and concepts. Awards are on offer in seven categories: comfort and health, entertainment and communications, environmental, future concepts and industrial design, innovation/technical, safety and security, and an overall winning submission.

An international expert panel comprising airline representatives, scientists, journalists and aviation managers is now considering a total of 82 entries from 13 different countries. Germany leads with 19 – reflecting the concentration of expertise in the Hamburg at operations like Airbus, including its KID-Systeme subsidiary, and VIP/corporate completions specialist Lufthansa Technik. The UK, with 13 entries, and the USA (9) are also well represented.

The awards ceremony will take place at Hamburg’s Atlantic Hotel in the evening of April 17, the first day of Aircraft Interiors. The winner in each category will receive a Crystal Cabin trophy and certificate.