Teague teams with NORDAM to create the world’s first ‘floating bed’ in the sky

Teague, a leading design and innovation company, has unveiled ‘Elevate’ - the world’s first single-aisle aircraft cabin that uses floating furniture to reimagine the in-flight passenger experience.

Working in collaboration with NORDAM, one of the world’s largest independently owned aerospace firms, Teague has created a cabin that offers passengers more personal space, privacy, and comfort in a home-like interior - without compromising existing passenger numbers.

Single-aisle aircraft are increasingly being used for long-haul flights. As more enter service, the onboard passenger experience is in direct competition with twin-aisle aircraft that fly the same routes. Passengers may feel the premium experience in a narrowbody cabin does not meet or exceed the standard of a widebody - owing to the reduced cabin footprint, seat pitch and constrained cabin architecture.

To date, innovation in the cabin interior has been limited due to furniture attachment points being in the seat-tracks only. ‘Elevate’ is the first cabin in history to implement sidewall attachment points that enable the creation of a lighter and more efficient suite environment. By utilizing mounted fixtures in the sidewall that eliminate restrictive structures around the monitor, side-furniture, and ottoman, the ‘Elevate’ concept increases the bed size, living space and stowage capacity for every passenger - providing a larger floorspace and promoting an expansive living space.

For front row and business-class passengers, the suite environment wraps around the whole living space, creating a more exclusive and private zone that moves away from the typical tubular environment into a more luxurious residential atmosphere, while customized entrance lighting and overhead bins deliver a “wow” factor for all passengers entering the cabin.

While the concept has been designed to resolve major pain points for passengers, it also has several unique and important advantages for airlines:

• Consistent experience: The creation of a narrowbody passenger experience that matches that of a widebody aircraft, which is important for airlines with mixed fleets.

• Market competitive: The reverse herringbone layout is familiar to passengers and regulatory bodies and achieves market-competitive density (no reduction in passenger numbers) and seat pitch.

• Lightweight cabin: Significantly lighter suite structures make every flight more fuel-efficient and therefore more sustainable.

• Simple & efficient: Solid state design reduces the need for moving parts (e.g., suite doors) and the associated engineering cost and complexity.

Anthony Harcup, Senior Director of Airline Experience at Teague comments: “At a time when passenger wellbeing and sustainability are industry priorities, ‘Elevate’ heralds-in a new generation of beautiful, simplified cabin products that will enable airlines to deliver exceptional experiences for their passengers with the economic efficiency that these smaller aircraft were designed to deliver.”

“This is a next-generation innovation that enables more creative freedom for the aircraft interior design community,” comments NORDAM CEO Meredith Siegfried Madden. “By revolutionizing how seats and other monuments attach to an aircraft, Nbrace recruits previously wasted space, transforming it into new aesthetic possibilities and dramatically improved passenger comfort, space and privacy.”

‘Elevate’ will be showcased at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2022 in Hamburg.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 24th March 2022 | Issue #646