Collins Aerospace wins awards for passenger cabin concepts

Collins Aerospace, a unit of United Technologies Corp., has won two awards across two categories at the 13th Annual Crystal Cabin Awards.

A panel of 28 industry experts judged and selected winners for enhancing the passenger experience through innovation, comfort, and convenience.

A winner in the Cabin Systems category, the M-Flex Duet is a cabin monument [shown above] to transform the aircraft doorway into a self-serve social zone or cabin attendant working area. During taxi, take-off, and landing the compact monuments are stowed – meeting all regulatory egress requirements. During flight, the units unfold to stretch across the doorway providing a stand-up, branded, and self-serve social area for a passenger to enjoy food and drinks, and it also provides additional crew working space.

Winning the Material & Components award was the Collins Aerospace µLED Reading Light, a small reading and dome light that works in unison with the cabin lighting system to create scenes that synergistically add to the general cabin environment. An operator may choose a bright dome light for boarding or smaller, dimmed light for night time. This technology can adapt to different applications from a large spot, small target, non-standard and non-uniform shapes, as well as multi passenger applications.

The Crystal Cabin Award is the only international award for excellence in aircraft interior innovation, donated by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and released by the Crystal Cabin Award Association. This unique honor for outstanding cabin products and concepts was presented for the first time during the 2007 Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. The Crystal Cabin Award's main intention is to initiate a significant improvement in passenger comfort.