A Times article details how ID superstar Marc Newson, who also serves as creative director for Australian airline Qantas, has designed the cabins for Qantas' A380. And while the spacious A380s are rightly called superjumbos, the devil lies in the details:
...the design language of the Qantas A380 is defined less by what the passengers see than by how they feel. Given that flat beds, cashmere blankets and other airline "innovations" are instantly copied by the competition, Mr. Newson has tried to distinguish Qantas's superjumbo with intelligent detailing derived from the old-fashioned design process of analyzing every component to identify how it could best be made and laid out with the latest technology.
Giving economy passengers an extra inch of leg room is a prime example. The seats in first class are 6.5 inches wider, and those in business class 20 inches longer than the ones in Qantas's 747s. But the airline was stingier with extra space in economy and premium economy. The only way to compensate was by making the seat backs slimmer. Mr. Newson's team did so by developing a lightweight carbon-fiber shell with Recaro, the German manufacturer, which used similar technology in seating for race cars.
Unlike other "flying palace" designs typical of the A380s, Newson's design is more stylistic/futuristic than pure luxe. Read the article here, and see how Newson's done everything from considering the shape of the plates to quieting the cries of babies.
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