Customer Reviews

Jetliner Cabins

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There are surprisingly few large scale, codified books on interior design for the aviation industry. Every once in a while a book tries to bridge the gap between a coffee table, photographic essay of airplane interiors and a true guide for aviation interior design. Going even further than the previous edition in the number of chapters and photographs, Jetliner Cabins is the most up-to-date book currently available.

This updated edition contains a thorough explanation of cabin interiors, from discussions on the history of aviation and passenger experience, defining brands, new trends in design, cabin maintenance and marketing. Of special note is a subchapter on the future of commercial airliners and airplane design, including wonderful pictures of the energy efficient and sleek Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the cavernous Airbus A380-800, the multifunctional Bombardier CSeries and the scalable Embraer Jets. These planes may compete against each other on very different merits, but they thrust aviation into the next phase of flight history. It is wonderful to read and see so much about these planes.

Through well-written analysis, comparisons, diagrams, photographs, and indexes, Jetliner Cabins will delight both industrial designer and amateur enthusiast.

Besides the external paint job, most jets look alike when viewed from the outside. Even equipment with a fancy paint job is often not seen by the passenger.

It is the interior cabin which is most familiar to the customer, and conversely, it is the interior which is often most frustrating to the airlines. Besides the engines and avionics, the number of fundamental exterior combinations is not that overwhelming.

But the potential different combinations of interior cabins can easily reach the tens of thousands. In fact, part of the delay in getting the Airbus A380 into production is directly related to the interior. John Leahy, head of Airbus commercial said in an interview last year that he was embarrassed about the delays and attributed it in part to the new cabin configurations on the A380 sought by customers. If every launch customer dramatically changes the interior, and each is different than the other; that in turn creates a significant increase in engineering work that is required.

What's more, many airlines use their interiors to a competitive advantage. When it comes to the A380, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Emirates who are the first three customers have said little publicly about all the new features in their A380 cabins because they do not want to give away secrets to the competition.

With that, Jetliner Cabins is a fascinating look at the history of interior cabins. The books 16 chapters are extremely well-researched and provide a comprehensive look at cabin interiors from the early days of flight, to current cabins such as the A380 and B787. Short of actual architectural specifications, the book provides the reader with everything they need to know.

There is a lot that goes into the cabin and the book points out all of the details. From product branding, the passenger experience, to maintenance, marketing and more. The author astutely notes that airline financial people are often myopic to the passenger experience, and will often favor a smaller seat pitch, much to the chagrin of the passenger.

If the book has a downside, it is its scant coverage (two pages) of the B787 Dreamliner. This is disappointing since the Dreamliner cabin is revolutionary. From its lighting and simulated cabin sky, Improved cabin environment, and more; its cabin is definitely ground-breaking.

Besides that, Jetliner Cabins provides a fascinating and interesting insiders look into the art and science of cabin interiors. It is a well-illustrated and well-written guide to one of the more important, yet overlooked subjects of commercial aviation. The author is clearly an expert in the field which is shown in the attention to details the book provides.

Jennifer Clay, an airline industry insider, with a vast amount of experience in airliner interior design, has recently updated her book. This book is an amazingly interesting resource covering the past (Concorde, Eastern, Braniff, Pan Am, etc.), the present (a comprehensive survey of U.S. and international airlines), and the future (Airbus A380, Boeing B787 Dreamliner, Bombardier C-Series, and the new category of Embraer Very Light Jets). You'll read about everything from safety, seat design, and fabric selection to meal service, accessibility and maintenance in first-, business- and economy-class cabins. It also has really cool cabin layout diagrams.

Attention all you airline geeks: this one's for you. This is the perfect gift for that travel aficionado in your life. And it's the perfect stocking stuffer for that on-the-same-wavelength nephew who happens to be in love with the airline industry.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I expected more design details such as section views, construction details, mechanisms, installation details, venneer application details and so on. I was left disappointed. However, this book is a good source of ideas on the artistic design aspect of aircraft interiors. I wished it could have been more than just a load of pictures.