• At the world’s leading industry show, the Aircraft Interiors Expo, the trends in international aviation will once again be presented in Hamburg from 5 – 7 April.

Hamburg | March 30, 2016– Touchscreen monitors in television format – even for economy passengers. Lighting concepts that minimise jetlag and can project complex imagery on the cabin ceiling. Armrests for business class where simply putting your smartphone down is enough for it to automatically be recharged. And an app that allows you to follow the progress of your flight on your own mobile device. Aircraft Interiors Expo, the cabin industry trade fair in Hamburg (5 – 7 April), is a fixed date that the world’s major airlines cannot afford to miss. And not just them, either: The event defines international trends for the entire civil aviation sector, from economy class all the way up to private jets. As part of the trade fair, the “Oscars” of the aircraft cabin industry are also presented – the Crystal Cabin Award, launched by Hamburg Aviation and celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

The Aircraft Interiors Expo is being held at Hamburg’s Messehallen Trade Fair for the 15th time this year. Over the years, it has become established as a major event in the city’s trade fair calendar, and it is growing year by year. This year will see more than 530 exhibitors from some 30 nations presenting to over 10,000 visitors from the industry – with an exhibition space equivalent to almost 130 tennis courts. Three of the seven exhibition halls are dedicated to the field with the strongest growth: on-board entertainment and connectivity. Once again, the affiliated World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo is being held in parallel at the Trade Fair site. The exhibition week begins on Monday, 4 April when high-ranking figures from the industry gather at Congress Center Hamburg (CCH) for presentations and discussions in the Passenger Experience Conference.

Hamburg the world’s largest competency center for aircraft cabins

Many of the exhibitors at Aircraft Interiors Expo are already based in Hamburg. The metropolitan region is the world’s largest competency center in the field of aircraft cabins, one of the aviation industries most important growth areas. The global cabin research operations of Hamburg’s biggest employer, Airbus, are located at the company’s site in Finkenwerder, Hamburg, and the manufacturer is one of the largest exhibitors at the trade fair. Just recently, the company presented its “Airspace by Airbus” long-haul cabin concept, focussed on a combination of design and a comfortable environment. Lufthansa Technik, another heavyweight amongst the exhibitors at the trade fair, is presenting new entertainment products, seating concepts, or innovations for galleys such as an inductive cooking platform. And there are also innovations to be seen from Diehl Aerosystems, the third-biggest industrial employer in Hamburg’s aviation sector. The company is presenting various products and ideas, including a novel lighting concept for the aircraft cabin and an innovative fire extinguishing system for the cargo hold. The largest booth at the Expo in 2016, however, will once again be the Hanse Pavillion of Hamburg’s supplier association, Hanse-Aerospace, where more than 70 companies, mostly SMEs, will display their products and services – among them P3 engineering with the first halon-free fire extinguisher for aviation. Here, too, is Hamburg Aviation, along with the all new ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research, formally opened on 7 March, a beacon for cabin-related research worldwide (6B90 12.4).

Hamburg Minister for the Economy, Senator Horch, & State Secretary Zypries attending

“The Aircraft Interiors Expo has long been an indispensable event in the industry’s calendar. Hamburg is on show here – not just as host and at the same time home to important players in the field of cabins and on-board products, but also and above all as a global innovation center. What you see on display here today will be experienced by airline passengers tomorrow,” says Hamburg’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation, Senator Frank Horch who will tour the trade fair on 6 April to see for himself the full spectrum of cabin trends, accompanied by the Parliamentary State Secretary for aerospace policy, Brigitte Zypries.

Crystal Cabin Award, aviation innovation prize, to be presented for 10th time

This year in particular, all eyes will be on the Crystal Cabin Award, a prize launched by Hamburg Aviation that is celebrating its 10th anniversary at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in 2016. The winners in the eight different categories of this year’s international “Cabin Oscars” will be announced at a formal ceremony on the evening of 5 April at the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski on the banks of the Alster. An overview of the 2016 finalists is available throughout the Aircraft Interiors Expo in the Crystal Cabin Award Gallery in Hall B1 Upper. Here, too, the winners will present their concepts to visitors and the press in person on 6 April at 12:30 p.m.