Aircraft Interiors Expo hailed a success by visitors

More than 1,200 visitors packed the halls of the first Aircraft Interiors Expo Asia in Hong Kong. The show will return to Hong Kong on 27, 28, 29 September next year. Here are the impressions of some of those who attended this year`s show:

“The Expo is an opportunity for airlines to have a direct dialogue with their suppliers, instead of communicating through email, etc – here we have the opportunity to see the products and try them out in real time. Having the show in Asia also allows us to send more people as it’s more cost effective as an Asian airline.” J. S. Tseng, Cabin Interiors, China Airlines

With airlines suffering increasing revenue losses, particularly as a result of high fuel charges, carriers must cut costs to remain profitable. ``We have set a target to lower our costs to HK$1.80 per ATK by end-2007 (-4.35 per cent p.a.). Lowering unit costs at a faster rate than the decline in unit revenues produces the cash required to invest in new products and services,`` said Hughes.

Weight remains a concern, as Hughes revealed an 83 per cent increase in interior BFE weight for a three-class 747-400 between 1990 and 2005, even though today`s aircraft had six fewer seats. ``The industry needs to embrace the use of new technology and materials in cabin interiors,`` he said.

Hughes was critical of increasing complexity and the current situation where a change to one product, for example seating, often leads to the airline having to change another, such as the IFE. He argued for better implementation of `upgrade paths`, as well as asking for a more transparent working relationship with suppliers in order to achieve better value.

Cathay`s Chris Gibbs, general manager of engineering, provided more ideas for improving airline supplier practices. ``The airline reliability and safety target is zero failures, to the paying passenger and to the crew,`` he said. Gibbs argued for fully redundant and all-digital IFE using simplified architectures and consumer market technology, further developed BITE and fault reporting, modular designs for easier maintenance and more pre-service testing. He suggested that the way forward lay in airlines `invoicing for everything`, with suppliers providing total care packages. Gibbs also urged suppliers to source their manufacturing in China to help cut costs, asked for better feedback on in-service costs, and a relaxation of intellectual property rights in the interests of competition and efficiency.

Suppliers have responded positively to the message from their airline customers