The organisers of Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) have released the seminar programme for CabinSpace Live 2024, a two-day event where industry experts from big players such as Airbus, Lufthansa Technik, Iberia, Hughes, TAP Airlines, and Recaro Aircraft Seating will share their experiences and insights for creating the cabin of tomorrow.
Free-to-attend for exhibitors and registered visitors at AIX, the CabinSpace Live sessions will cover trends influencing the industry, from IFEC (in-flight entertainment and connectivity), to accessibility onboard, to sustainable interior design and retrofit cabin refurbishments.
A particular focus for the 2024 event will be how to create and navigate a seamless travel experience – important as business and leisure travel has been bouncing back, and IATA expects airline revenues will grow 7.6% this year.
Day one lineup (Tuesday 28th May)
On day one of CabinSpace Live (28th May), attendees at the seminar titled ‘Cabin Environment: Achieving the Ultimate Ambience and Wellbeing for Passengers’ can delve into the world of creating natural environments onboard, leveraging features from lighting hues to optimum airflow, with speakers including Dan Rust, head of design at IFPL Group. Continuing the conversation on revolutionising the cabin’s physical environment, Markus Höllerer, head of strategy and products at Recaro Aircraft Seating will discuss the evolving preferences needed to find the perfect cabin configuration that balances revenue and comfort in the session titled ‘Seating: Finding the Perfect Balance’.
Shifting the focus to additional in-flight amenities day one will also see Seth Miller, founder of PaxEx.Aero, host an expert panel discussion titled, ‘Connectivity: Perfect Partnerships.’ He will be joined by Ben Griffin, VP for mobility and AMEA regions at Eutelsat OneWeb; Rez Rasoulian, vice president, aviation business unit at Hughes; Melanie Berry, director of customer experience at Iberia; and Elias Zaccack, executive vice president, mobility at SES. The group will review some of the current industry partnerships that are delivering seamless passenger connectivity through low-earth orbit (LEO), middle-earth orbit (MEO), and ground-earth orbit (GEO) satellites.
David Whelan, senior analyst at Valour Consultancy, will be hosting a midday session titled, ‘Connectivity: The Big Switch’, with Reza Rasoulian from Hughes; Mary Rogozinski, business development director at Netforcast; and Sean Reilly, vice president of air transport management and digital solutions at SmartSky. Together, these IFEC visionaries will explore how airlines can best transition to free connectivity for passengers.
As free wi-fi on aircraft remains a topical issue for carriers, with airlines increasingly adopting ‘freemium’ business models over the last six months, Corinne Streichert, founder & CEO of IFECtiv LLC, will raise the importance of data capture onboard to curate personalised entertainment, at ‘In-Flight Entertainment: A Captive Audience.’
Fuelling excitement for the future of air travel, the ‘A New Era: The Fascinating Future of the Aircraft Cabin’ session will leverage CabinSpace Live’s platform to showcase groundbreaking cabin innovations from creative industry suppliers and designers. This panel discussion will be hosted by Maryann Simson, director of Jetway Communications. Joining Maryann is Ralph Wagner, co-founder and chief executive officer at Axinom, and Dave Pook, vice president, customer experience, at Burrana.
In the closing session on day one, ‘Cabin Refurbishment: Investing to Impress,’ attendees will hear from speakers at airlines that have recently completed or are currently undergoing major refurbishment programmes, including David Rice, managing director, Optimum Aero; Melanie Berry, director of customer experience, Iberia; Jacobo Mesta, CEO, Soisa Aircraft Interiors; and Daniel Kerrison, SVP inflight operations, flydubai.
Day two lineup (Wednesday 29th May)
Kicking off day two (29th May) will be Max Kingsley Jones, senior consultant at Cirium Ascend Consultancy with ‘A Commercial Aviation and Interiors Market Outlook’ to share an overview of the latest fleet and market developments.
Building on discussions from the first day, representatives from Airbus, Air France, Lufthansa Technik, and AIRE will join the session titled ‘An MRO Perspective on Elevating Aircraft Cabin Interiors’ to address regulatory challenges, certification requirements, and the integration of emerging technologies. The discussion will highlight the MRO industry’s essential role in improving cabin comfort, safety, and operational efficiency, while meeting evolving passenger demands and industry competition.
Following this session David Marty, head of digital solutions marketing at Airbus will explore, ‘The Use and Impact of Predictive Maintenance on Aircraft Cabin Refurbishment’. This session will explore how predictive maintenance is currently reshaping the industry’s approach to cabin refurbishment and how the industry can address barriers faced by the MRO sector to maximise safety, cost-effectiveness, and customer experience.
In partnership with Hamburg Aviation, the Crystal Cabin Award winners will then take centre stage from 14:00. These winners, having received accolades at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening, will showcase their innovative products and services, demonstrating the new heights of aircraft cabin innovation.
Closing the 2024 CabinSpace Live agenda on Wednesday afternoon will be sessions designed to give audiences a ‘snapshot’ of the future passenger experience. Weighing in on ‘Leveraging Connectivity and IoT to Enhance In-Flight Experience’ will be Clarence Eymery, chief marketing officer at Moment. Eymery will be followed by William Henn, VP sales & business development at AirFree who will discuss ‘Reinventing Inflight Retailing’, and Cyril Jean, CEO of PX COM, who will share insights on how to ‘Leverage AI for a Digital In-Flight Personalised Experience’.
Polly Magraw, event director of AIX, said of the lineup: “This year the agenda brings together industry voices from different corners of the supply chain with a number of prestigious carriers to provide a deeper understanding of challenges faced and growing opportunities to overcome barriers. We look forward to welcoming audiences to the theatre and see what initiatives spark from this year’s discussions.”
CabinSpace Live will take place in Hall B1 Lower at the Hamburg Messe during Aircraft Interiors Expo from 28-29 May 2024. Visitors can register to attend via the website here.