Aircraft Interiors – industry development summary: 2024
This regular CAPA - Centre for Aviation report provides a summary of major developments in the aircraft interiors sector, supported by data from the CAPA - Centre for Aviation Aircraft Interiors Database and CAPA - Centre for Aviation News.
This edition provides highlights in the interiors space throughout 2024.
- A summary of major developments in the aircraft interiors sector over 2024.
- Various product debuts in the widebody space during the year 2024.
- In 2024 there was rising prominence of narrowbodies on long haul routes.
- Continuous rise of 'Made-In-China' products.
As the new year begins, CAPA - Centre for Aviation would like to look back at the events that occurred during the past year 2024.
New Seating Products
In 2024 there were various product debuts in the widebody space:
- Jul-2024: Korean Air introduced its first doored business class product, with its Boeing 787-10 debut. This marks the latest operator of the Collins Horizon Premier platform, a programme that was initially introduced by Aeroflot, and later found its way to Turkish Airlines and Air India following the Russian-Ukraine War;
- Oct-2024: Cathay Pacific put its first 777-300ER with 'Aria' business seats into service based on the Collins' Elements platform, alongside new premium economy and economy products by RECARO - this marks one of the original Cirrus operators defecting to the Collins reverse herringbone;
- Oct-2024: Lufthansa finally began operations of its first Allegris-equipped aircraft after a seven-year delay. Allegris installation on the Boeing 787 is continuing to suffer from certification delays;
- Other airlines that introduced new widebody business seats include Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines.
Widebodies vs Narrowbodies
When looking at all passenger widebodies delivered in 2024, STELIA Aerospace leads, with the highest number of aircraft featuring its business class seats.
This is followed closely by Safran, Collins Aerospace, and Thompson Aero Seating.
Business Class manufacturer of global passenger widebodies delivered in 2024
Turning our attention to narrowbodies: 2024 has been an exciting year, thanks to the rising prominence of narrowbodies on long haul routes.
When Airbus delivered the world's first A321XLR in late 2024, much attention was paid on new lie-flat solutions optimised for narrowbody cabins.
Iberia chose to install the Thompson VantageSOLO on its A321XLR, whereas Aer Lingus opted for its standard Thompson Vantage platform.
Aegean Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Etihad are all expected to introduce lie-flat narrowbody products in the upcoming years.
Overall, when looking at all passenger narrowbodies delivered in 2024, Collins is the market leader in the premium space, followed by Safran and RECARO.
Business Class manufacturer of global passenger narrowbodies delivered in 2024
Regional jets are also feeling the love
There have also been some notable product changes in the regional aircraft market:
- May-2024: Air France selected Expliseat TiSeat 2 X seats for its Embraer E190 retrofit programme;
- Oct-2024: Finnair started its Embraer retrofit programme with two Recaro seating platforms;
- Nov-2024: Air Tahiti introduced its first retrofitted ATR with Expliseat TiSeat 2 V Prime;
- Nov-2024: BA CityFlyer completed its Embraer E190 retrofit with Geven Essenza RJ seats.
Made in China
Also noteworthy is the continuous rise of 'Made-In-China' products.
In 2024 China Southern Airlines began to retrofit Boeing aircraft with AVIC seats while taking delivery of AVIC-equipped A320neo family aircraft.
Hainan Airlines also joined in when it took delivery of its first A320neo with AVIC seats line-fitted.
Looking ahead...
There are various future retrofit plans we at CAPA - Centre for Aviation are excited about:
- Feb-2024: Saudia announces upcoming Business Suites line-fit plans;
- Mar-2024: China Airlines issues statement on retrofitting entire A350 fleet;
- Jul-2024: Turkish Airlines presented a mock-up of its upcoming Crystal Business Suites;
- Sep-2024: Brussels Airlines discloses upcoming new widebody cabin plans;
- Oct-2024: Thai Airways is to add premium economy;
- Nov-2024: Singapore Airlines teases new cabin products for 41 long haul A350-900 aircraft;
- Nov-2024: British Airways showcased its upcoming first class suites to the public.
IFEC: Free WiFi and Next Generation IFE solutions
2024 has been all about free WiFi.
As reported extensively by CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Starlink's astronomical rise has led to major disruptions in the IFC space, leading to various global heavyweights joining the free WiFi trend.
In 2024 alone, Starlink kicked off installations on Qatar Airways and airBaltic, completed installations on Hawaiian Airlines' Airbus fleet, while signing major airlines such as Air France, United Airlines, and WestJet. All committed to providing Starlink connectivity for free.
This trend expanded to non-Starlink users.
2024 saw All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines and various others announcing varying degrees of free WiFi.
On a related note: Airbus' attempt at disrupting the IFC market resulted in major developments in 2024.
HBCplus went into service with Emirates Airline and Ethiopian Airlines while signing clients, including Air Algerie, Philippine Airlines, Thai Airways, and Turkish Airlines.
These trends will take time to materialise. For the year 2024, Viasat remains the market leader for new deliveries, taking 64% of the market.
IFC provider of global passenger aircraft delivered in 2024
Looking at the IFE space: next generation solutions by major IFE players are starting to gain prominence.
Panasonic Avionics' latest Astrova platform debuted on Icelandair's first A321LR. The OEM also signed clients such as Air Canada, EVA Air, Lufthansa, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, and Saudia.
Thales's new 'Avant Up' solution went into service with Emirates Airline and Ethiopian, while it has signed Air India as a new client.
Looking at passenger aircraft delivered in 2024, Panasonic Avionics remains the market leader, with a dominant 54% share.
IFE manufacturer of global passenger aircraft delivered in 2024
A push to premium in the US
Another topic covered multiple times by CAPA - Centre for Aviation in 2024 was the premium trend in the US.
The US has long led the world in cabin segmentation. Legacy carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have been able to capture demands of all types with their optimal cabin layout, offering up to five different seating options, with an increasing ratio of premium seats over the years.
With elevated consumer preference for premium products post-COVID, low-cost carriers with their no-frills basic seat offerings have found themselves losing competitive edge over the diverse offering of legacy airlines.
Southwest Airlines responded in a major way, abandoning its long practice of not having seat assignment: it is now adding extra legroom seats and charging for seat selection.
As shown in this CAPA - Centre for Aviation graph from our Jul/ Aug-2024 summary, once installation concludes, Southwest's premium ratio will rank near the top among US carriers.
US FSCs and LCCs: ranked by proportion of narrowbody seats in service as Economy Plus, or higher
CAPA mentioned then that there had been no sign of this development losing momentum: this proved true.
Later in the year, Frontier Airlines and JetBlue Airways also joined the trend by announcing intentions to install true domestic first class recliners.