Formation’s Premium Economy Cabin Concept Praised

In a piece on how vertical space can be better utilized in aircraft interiors, Aircraft Interiors International praised Formation’s thinking and development around this topic. The article examines different concepts that attempt to increase cabin capacity and stake claim to IP in an increasingly crowded landscape. Formation’s Premium Economy Cabin concept achieves both higher cabin capacity and IP while improving the user experience; the concept allows lay flat seats to be available to coach passengers.

From the article

In the mid 2000s, Robert Henshaw, a partner at Formation, noticed that wide-body aircraft cabins were generally becoming taller, and began thinking about the possibility of using some of this space to layer the bed and seat arrangements, creating higher passenger density without compromising passenger living space.

Henshaw has created a few layered seating concepts, the latest featuring an arrangement of two forward-facing and two aft-facing lie-flat seats, which are separated by a raised premium class suite with living space comparable to a first class suite at a pitch of 80in or more. The standard business class seats that bookend the suite underlap the armrest areas of the suite, and when the suite converts to a bedroom, the bed overlaps the armrest and thus the lower leg area of the four bookending seats.

The lower positioning of the bed provides two advantages. The first is more vertical space in the footwell to better accommodate crossed legs, while the second advantage is improved step-over egress for the window or center seats.

The concept is well suited to several aircraft types. The high-density 1-2-1 suite and 2-4-2 standard lie-flat arrangement is suitable for the A350, A380 main deck and B777. A more spacious but less dense arrangement of 1-1-1 and 2-2-2 would work well for the A330, A380 upper deck, and B787. For single aisle, a 1-1 suite and 2-2 standard lie-flat arrangement would be a very compelling transcon product offering.

In a 2-4-2 B777, Formation claims that an overall seat gain of 17 lie-flats is achieved, compared with a typical staggered or herringbone LOPA. The cabin is comprised of 46 standard lie-flats and 11 premium suites. According to the studio, the ability to offer 11 premium suites and still have a higher count of standard lie-flat seats could be a game changer.

Read the full article here. Learn more about the premium cabin concept developed by Formation here.