Established in 2007, the Crystal Cabin Award is considered one of the aviation industry’s most internationally coveted and hotly contested awards. Winners in 2022 included major industry names such as Collins Aerospace, Safran and Southwest Airlines, as well as emerging companies such as Caeli Nova and Diab. The eight categories of the awards cover any type of passenger experience innovation, and any type of innovator, from airline to aviation company, design studio to student.
The awards programme has a multi-stage judging process, with the initial entries assessed according to objective criteria. Three finalists are then selected for each of the eight categories by the international jury of aviation experts. The final stage, an in-person review and assessment during Aircraft Interiors Expo, the world’s biggest PaxEx trade fair, sees the jury debate and decide the winners. The winners will be announced at an event on 6th June 2023 in Hamburg.
More details of the process, and of last year’s winners, can be found HERE.
Submissions are open now via www.crystal-cabin-award.com
The eight Crystal Cabin Award categories:
Cabin Concepts
This category rewards holistic cabin concepts by manufacturers, design companies and airlines. Entries can be designs already in use or nearing market launch, and those incorporating visionary ideas for the future.
Cabin Systems – presented by Etihad Aviation Group
This category considers innovative products that provide operators such as airlines with a significant advantage in terms of operation or efficiency. Examples are galleys, toilet systems, trolleys, air-conditioning systems as well as seats. The judging panel will consider efficiency aspects such as weight and space utilisation. Digital solutions for passengers have their own category, ‘IFEC & Digital Services’ (see below).
Health & Safety
This category looks at innovation in concepts and products that have an impact on safety, security, health and hygiene on board, or on the physical well-being of flyers. Entries may focus on passengers, crew or cargo.
IFEC & Digital Services
IFEC (In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity) is one of the fastest developing arenas in the aviation industry. Entries here must demonstrate technological superiority over competing products and cover in-flight entertainment solutions, connectivity equipment such as antennas and wi-fi, passenger apps, or complete software solutions for a smart, connected cabin.
Material & Components
This category recognises new materials and applications in the cabin that reduce costs and increase usability. It covers an enormous variety of different aircraft components; individual components or materials may be submitted, but not a fully developed product such as a seat.
Passenger Comfort
Entries in this category must demonstrate how they improve passenger comfort in the cabin. Innovations that benefit a large group of people may be rated higher due to their greater impact on successful airline operations. This category includes seats, toilets, storage, partitions, lighting solutions, trims, premium and business products, first class and VIP products, to name but a few.
Sustainable Cabin – presented by Panasonic Avionics Corporation
The aviation industry is committed to becoming emissions-free within the next 30 years. This goal requires a high level of innovation covering every aspect of aviation, including the cabin and passenger experience. Customers are also becoming increasingly sensitive to travel sustainability issues, requiring operators to take action and provide solutions that are environmentally friendly. This is reflected in the Sustainable Cabin category of the Crystal Cabin Awards, which rewards contributions with a demonstrable effect on the environmental impact of aviation.
University
The University category gives students the chance to present forward-looking products and ideas for the aircraft cabin – and also to establish important contacts within the industry during the process. The concepts submitted should make flying more comfortable, intelligent, or lessen its ecological footprint.
Why enter now?
The application period runs until 25 January 2023. However, entrants have the opportunity to take advantage of an Early Bird rate. Entrants who submit their application by 25th December 2022 are eligible for a reduced entry fee of €250 (plus 19% VAT for EU entries). After that, the submission fee €360, as in the previous year. Students applying in the University category are exempt from all submission fees.
The application form and conditions of entry, an overview of the 2022 winners and a more detailed explanation of all Crystal Cabin Award categories can be found online at www.crystal-cabin-award.com.
