Born out of a relationship between the 'worlds best airline 2006' Cathay Pacific Airways and one of the world's premier transportation design consultancies- Design Q, came Project Olympus. The momentum and vibrancy of a very driven English team, informed and transcribed the desire to design fresh, inspirational aircraft interiors for first, business and economy classes. Aircraft galleys, Cabin design and aircraft lavatories that readdress the experience and philosophy of air travel holistically and elevates it into a new dimension. Together Cathay Pacific and Design Q have created a cabin ambience and experience that is truly original and exciting, that builds elegantly on the already world-beating reputation of one of the worlds most prestigious airlines.
Design Q is a unique design consultancy… becoming a specialist in aircraft vip interiors and with a long track record for designing high specification Automobiles, executive jet interiors, Helicopter interior design, Yacht interiors and commercial Aircraft Interiors, They work from their base in Central England on the Worcester Warwickshire border producing high specification products for some of the worlds leading brands, Ferrari, Moserati, Aston Martin, Princess Yachts, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa Technik are the few they are at liberty to mention and now Cathay Pacific, the leading Airline for 2006 and based in the technological and ever ambitious hub of the east, Hong Kong.
Uniquely Design Q provide a design service that not only shapes and styles new products but also works hand in hand with the engineering and development to ensure quality in the detail.
With many design awards under Design Q's belt for Aviation interior design, Cathay Pacific were well aware that their experience had brought Virgin Atlantic an award winning interior in 2003 but were looking for something even better for 2007.
A unique and distinctive Airline with an appetite and expertise for service and comfort. Now in its 60th year Cathay Pacific has grown into the jewel of Hong Kong providing passengers with a great service and choice of scheduled flights to all the worlds major destinations. Airline of the year 2006 Cathay Pacific has not sat back to enjoy the glory but has painstakingly moved forward on what must be one of the most ambitious programmes in commercial airline history by commissioning new designs for all three classes and installing them simultaneosly - upgrading their massive fleet.
The task was to produce a travel environment that cossets and calms the traveller, one that is welcoming and relaxing. Recognising the importance of Asia within the modern world by representing itself with a contemporary and upbeat designer feel whilst being mindful of the requirements and intended performance of each cabin class and embodying the character and culture of Cathay Pacific.
We live in an ever increasing state of design sophistication and technological advance and the elements of this have been cleverly addressed in the design of each class area and each element of design is intentional so that the passenger is on a journey within the journey - that being a journey of discovery which possesses an element of surprise and ultimately creates a feeling of pleasure thus in turn creating psychological 'wellness'.
The design philosophy is of pure natural 'Spa' colours. Even the international language of colour referencing has been changed by the NCS or Natural Colour System. This is a referencing system of thousands of natural colours so when they are positioned together the overall affect is fresh. However, in an aircraft the lighting often is restrictive and has a massive impact on the overall colour view.
The colours have been derived from Asian Spa interiors selecting blues and greens that offer natural reassurance and freshness. Distinctive pacific blues and aqua greens are combined with warm natural bamboo and woven silks. Colours were referenced using NCS 'Natural Colour System' codes - an innovative colour system that depicts and defines colours the way they are observed by the human eye. This was an obvious and deliberate move away from traditional colour referencing systems so as to ensure natural honesty and simplicity.
Whilst it has been important to be mindful of all of design philosophies and apply them to the whole ethos of Cathay Pacific aircraft interiors, in order to present an aircraft interior that flows effortlessly between the class areas, it has also been very important to address and apply more importance of different elements of this brief to the various cabins in order to fulfil the needs, expectations and desires of the varying type of passengers within the three classes.
The Critical Design Review (CDR) in March was quite difficult from a colour perspective, mainly due to the fact that you can only make something in fabrics and materials that exist at that point in time as this represents the first and very early stage where full size replicas need to be produced.
The mock up was in two halves, the right side in darker deep colours with the left being lighter and brighter.' Even so the colours were a bone of contention and even though the mockup sang with confidence the colour was after all were a product of as close as Design Q could get to the proposed colour intent.
The materials used for the mock up were expensive to say the least, but then quality was of prime importance so suppliers of the worlds best, most expensive and contemporary fabrics were used.
The colour and trim task is not to be underestimated as an aircraft interior is a large space and is made up of hundreds of components, all of which have to be specified, tried and tested in some shape or form. A further difficulty in aircraft interior design is that specific materials have to be used so a particular colour reference often has to be translated into several different material finishes some of which take long lead times to perfect. Therefore a change, be it only a minor colour shift, can affect many components and in this instance several changes took place.
The seat fabric generally becomes a driver as complex patterns and colours come into play. Even when other colours seem to be fixed on components around the interior, the fabric ultimately seems to control what is and is not acceptable.
The First Class cabin has been designed to evoke the most luxurious mood of all three cabin areas, where passengers are brought onboard and treated as individuals of utmost importance, where their needs and desires are of primary concern to the carrier.
This area is not designed primarily as a working environment (although all the technology is present to enable it to be used as an 'office') but rather as a luxurious private relaxation room or suite.
Passengers are greeted by plush deep blue/green aircraft carpets which, married with the European walnut wardrobes, give the first signals of the standard of the highly appointed forward First class cabin.
A series of rooms have been created, which not only provides the traveller with space and privacy, but also is the ultimate journey within the journey that was mentioned earlier. Inspiration has been sought from the world's most luxurious fabric manufacturers, where the inherent quality of the fabrics combined with exquisite colours and sympathetic patterns were endorsed by the cost.
Contemporary Chenille combined with silks that are indigenous to Hong Kong, were brought together to create a space in which one can truly look forward to spending time. Indeed the objective was to create a living environment that parallels the world's most luxurious hotels.
A wardrobe, large sofa, sideboard in fact all the necessary things that would be associated with a hotel room and even the industry's largest personal LCD screen are provided for the pleasure of the first-class traveller, with their private space marked out by a luxury Axminster 'rug'. Warm, dark aircraft leather contrasts with the light silver-white privacy screens softened by aqua ribbed Chenille and crowned by a unique Q inspired silver silk cushion. Natural European walnut is featured on the personal wardrobe and in-flight entertainment centre which is flanked by a sideboard and table with the same walnut fascia.
The design language is simple and unpretentious. It is an honest room with an efficient use of space and appointed in the same spirit with careful material selection. It is however very distinctive with a great measure of sophistication with careful dark horizontal colour demarking the Screen area pulling the eye on its curvaceous journey around the leather stitched capping that frames one's personal real estate, interrupted by plains of wood and all wool warmth.
The flavour of the Business Class area is as the name suggests aimed more towards the Business or Office environment but provides this environment with extra added quality and luxury.
The first clue to the flavour of the new business class cabin is evident at Door 2 where the pacific blue and green carpet graces the upper deck stairway alongside the all new bar area. The fresh ice blue wall finishes lead you expectantly into the brand new and distinctive business class cabin.
The design definition is very fluid, with an efficient herringbone layout allowing for unrestricted aisle access from each seat, The'enclosure also provides each passenger with their own space to experience and explore for the duration of their journey Each element of design within the 'enclosure' (the manner in which the personal TV screen is extracted and retracted from the central column, the morphosis of the seat to a generous flat bed etc) again addresses the element of the journey within the journey,
Great thought and research has gone into the ergonomics of what the enclosure offers. Maximizing space from a sitting and sleeping perspective are clearly of prime importance and clever packaging of tables and generous stowage's contribute to the general well being of the traveler. But the subtleties of how things are accessed, reached touched or seen have been greatly tested. It is no coincidence that one's hand falls conveniently within reach of the forward cocktail tray. So too can be said of the rear tray that comes into its own when reclined or in bed.
The materials selected for this scheme have been considered with perhaps more leaning on the 'Funky Savile Row' element of the brief whilst being mindful of the 'Asian Spa' in the colour selections.
The sleek and sophisticated appearance of the dark leathers, brushed metals and satin finishes with a twist of 'Saville Row' in the fabrics, have been juxtaposed with the ethos of the natural elements of the Spa in the use of colour; the green-blue representative of water, the browns of timber and earth, dark blue of deep ocean waters and the side wall, ceiling and coving colours evocative of sky and clouds. The use of these natural colours within this very sophisticated environment also provides a subconscious calming effect on the passenger as one cannot fail to feel at ease the familiar earthy surroundings.
The textures selected range from the heavy grain of the wool fabrics through to the lighter, softer silk fabrics woven in a very fluid manner. Subliminal reassurance comes by the way of subtle textures and finishes. Great attention to the smaller details such as surface textures, matching parts and control of fit and finish almost came as an added value given that the designers consider these things on a daily basis with the automotive clients they continue to work with
As well as achieving a successful outcome for the design brief and being mindful of design trends of the future, the designers feel that they have also managed to keep a handle on the importance of retaining a subtle element of the corporate image of Cathay Pacific and interpreted the corporate colours in the final design proposal. Instinctive usage of the design palette has to be balanced with some of the core ethics of the corporate identity. Spa colours focus on natural teals and blues tempered with bamboo-like silk and hedged with opulent, twinneedled Ultraleather that joins the ottoman footrest with the bed deck.
The form language is fluid, conceived and defined on the latest three-dimensional modelling software used for generating complex forms and surfaces in the automotive design industry. The seat partitions are designed to give maximum privacy without feeling claustrophobic and the use of light fabrics provide gentle shielding from the fellow passengers. The fresh blue and teal seat fabrics cover the soft, ergonomically engineered, sculpted foams, crowned with the unique'Q' pillow.
'A subtle blend of state of the art technology with state of the art Asian spa'.
Economy class
The supposed 'poor relation' to the more exuberant first and business class cabins has also been given a complete make-over, from the floor upwards.
The dark blue/green airline carpets exude a feeling of warmth and luxury and remain as sympathetic to the brief as the carpet used in the other classes. A recent wave of industry-wide creativity has been tapped to discover an innovative product that redefines the function of the economy class seat.
A market-leading recline angle is achieved without any compromise to the passenger sat directly behind. The seat also features on-demand IFE with a 10.4" widescreen LCD screen and unprecedented levels of personal stowage for this class.
The seat cushions are trimmed in a bespoke fabric that captures the 'nature' theme incorporating lush greens and luxurious blues woven into a 'ripple' pattern. These fabrics are complimented by high-quality leather trim on the armrests and side bolsters, that cosset the passenger and aid sleep comfort. The seat-back is given a more technical treatment but with warmth and feel.
There is commonality between certain elements of all three classes which in no way detracts from the exclusivity of FCL and JCL, only harmony and logic. The finishes for each of the three class PTV screen surrounds are common and here scale is the chief differenciator between class
The seat fabrics are common in colour philosophy but are not the same colour and are quite different in design and weight.
Aircraft sidewalls and cabin bulkheads and ceilings also are refreshing but common through all classes. The seats have alternating colours thus providing a less formal impression w ith scatter cushions in complimentary colours and bright clean Antimacassars that are replaced for hygiene every flight.
The efficient use of space in the structure of the seat opens up additional space and provides greater comfort for the passenger. The seat back structure is in a strong but smooth contemporary composite and removes the often awkward and uncomfortable fixtures and fittings that protrude into your legroom.
Convenient stowage space is found in front of the cushion, this detail takes away the lost space in front of your Knees on conventional seats.
Economy long-haul flight is now to be enjoyed, not endured.
The interior went through further evolutionary development with suppliers of materials tasked with the job of developing and manufacturing specific colours and textures of the desired materials.
By June 2006 these materials were making their way off the looms, the presses, the CNC machines or all the other processes that create finishes that we all take for granted.
Design Q was tasked by Cathay to produce another complete mock up, a full size aircraft positioned on the 3rd floor of Cathay's Headquarters in Hong Kong*. The brief was to replicate all of First Class and business class in the specified materials signed off for production and to the production intent design now well on its way to production. Even down to the unique 'Design Q 'cabin art,* the cabin stunningly displays the hallmarks of the hand of a design consultancy that knows how to excel in satisfying its customers and the design brief it is set! Undaunted with the task, Design Q managed the program and supplied and installed all the requested components to make what really is a breathtaking first and business class product
Indistinguishable from the real thing, the 3rd floor mock up now provides the necessary facilities to be able to train the hundreds of cabin staff. So necessary if Cathay Pacific is to retain their accolade of best airline of the year 2007!