The world’s oldest – and by some estimations, grandest – of motorised transportation concerns is taking to the skies in a new partnership with the German airline Lufthansa.
The collaboration focuses on the design of cabins for the airline’s fleet of short- and medium-haul executive jets, with the first concepts recently unveiled at Geneva’s EBACE 2015, the international trade show for business aircraft.
The ambience is that of a luxury penthouse of a Kowloon skyscraper – there is no aisle, no seat 4A, no beverage cart. Instead, a spiral of stark whites and dark veneers stretch through the cabin like pulled taffy, and cushy modern furnishings obviate the need for lay-flat seating. There are no corners in evidence, with the great tube of the fuselage informing every sinuous line.
Those high-tech features include windows covered by what the team calls “black panels”. Based on Mercedes’ Magic Sky Control glass roof panels, the units can be dimmed from clear to black – in the manner of the recently launched Boeing 787 Dreamliner – with touch screens integrated for use in business or entertainment.
The two companies are gauging customer interest before committing to a production timetable.
