-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Heard it all before. I'd really like to think positively and SQ is a nice airline to fly with, but all I can see is more rows of 32 inch pitch seats no matter what anyone thinks about them. Airlines are in it to maximise profit - passengers on the whole want the cheapest tickets - that means cramming in the most economy rows you can get away with. If you want space you pay the premium to sit up front. Wern't they going to put casinos etc in the upper decks of 747s? That lasted about five minutes. David On Tuesday 01 Oct 2002 6:53 pm, Roger James wrote: > Frequent fliers try to create perfect plane > By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY > > NEW YORK =97 The largest commercial jetliner ever to fly should be > outfitted= =20 > with its own in-flight disco. No, make that a yoga classroom. Well, maybe > a= =20 > cocktail lounge with floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows. So went the=20 > discussion as Singapore Airlines invited 20 of its best business and=20 > leisure fliers for a weekend of blue-sky thinking on how to outfit the=20 > Airbus A-380, a double-decked behemoth set to make its debut in four > years.= =20 > As the first airline on tap to receive the history-making aircraft,=20 > Singapore is hoping that focus groups in New York, London and Singapore=20 > will help lead to the design of passenger-friendly interiors. The > invited=20 customers caught the spirit during sessions Saturday and Sunday > at a hotel= =20 > here. "They really are starting from scratch, so they can break the > rules,"= =20 > said passenger volunteer Juan Acevedo, who works for an asset management=20 > firm and flies overseas twice a year. > > The stakes are huge. Airbus doesn't want to flop in its bid to dethrone=20 > rival Boeing's 747 as the reigning queen of the world's aviation fleet. So= > =20 > far, it has sold more than 100 A-380s to eight air carriers, including > 10=20 firm orders to Singapore, despite the air travel slump. All eyes will > be on= =20 > Singapore. From an economic perspective, the airline is banking that the=20 > economy will have recovered by the time the plane is ready. From a=20 > passenger point of view, Singapore is hoping to add features that will > make= =20 > the A-380 as noteworthy inside as it is for its outside dimensions. Airbus= > =20 > says the A-380 is designed for 555 passengers. It will be up to Singapore,= > =20 > however, to decide how many seats to install and how much space to leave=20 > free for other uses. The airline hopes to find designs that will make > the=20 cabin seem less cramped. "There are ways to use the space in a > more=20 efficient way," said Joseph Debacq, Singapore's customer research > chief.=20 That's why passengers are being made an integral part of the > process,=20 reversing past practice. "A lot of the designs of modern > aircraft have been= =20 > led by the engineers and the airlines," said Roy > Langmaid, part of the consulting team brought in to run the exercise. > "In=20 some ways, the passengers have been an afterthought." > Not this time. To foster breakthrough thinking, the frequent fliers were=20 > led through exercises designed to release inhibitions and free creativity. > > Ideas flew. Asked to come up with innovative ways to use an unneeded=20 > forward cargo hold as passenger space, participants bounced around=20 > everything from the disco, yoga classroom and view-lounge concepts to a=20 > gym, hot tub or showering area. The space could be turned into a > glassed-in= =20 > room where giant-screen, wrap-around movies could be shown like at a=20 > planetarium, one participant suggested. Or it could be domed to allow in=20 > natural sun or moonlight. Most of Sunday was spent building full-scale=20 > mock-ups of areas where successively larger groups of people could live > for= =20 > up to 18 hours, the length of a long trans-Pacific flight.Dividing into=20 > teams, participants scribbled on easels, taped together panels, spread out= > =20 > aluminum foil and decorated with colored paper and marking pens. > > They grabbed whatever furniture they could find, then added glasses and=20 > carafes to create more intimate atmospheres.About three hours later, the=20 > conference room resembled a makeshift desert encampment. But what the=20 > exercise may have lacked in craftsmanship, it made up for in a few=20 > resounding themes: > =B7 Personal space. Passengers sought to find solutions to > present-day= =20 > planes, which can be crammed with so many seats that fliers feel > shoehorned= =20 > in. "No matter where you're sitting or what you're paying, you feel like a= > =20 > hostage," stockbroker Marion Lukasik said. > To maximize available space, the groups envisioned retractable seats,=20 > fold-down tables and multiple levels. They wanted the option of > interacting= =20 > with other passengers or withdrawing to their own private spaces. > One group called their business-class configuration Freedom Class for > the=20 ability to walk around. Taking advantage of the plane's double > decks, some= =20 > had upstairs and downstairs living areas. > > =B7 Sleep. The ability to have a lay-flat bed on a daylong flight=20 > overrode just about every other passenger concern. "People want to > sleep,=20 no matter what class they are in. There is a lot of passion > around that,"=20 Debacq said. > At one point, the group wrote down how much extra they would be willing to= > =20 > pay to have their own assigned bunk for the length of the trip. The > results= =20 > weren't disclosed. > > =B7 Peace. One group named their configuration Tranquility Class > to=20 underscore the serenity they seek, decorating it with reassuring > greens and= =20 > purples. Like others, they envisioned a place where passengers could > tune=20 out the world through music libraries or other interests to pass > the time. > > =B7 Self-service. Though Singapore promotes its attentive flight=20 > attendants, customers said they would the like the option, too, of being=20 > able to grab their own snacks or drinks, pick out music or videos and > try=20 out other self-service ideas. > > Although the airline also will hold similar sessions with in-plane > crews,=20 this was the last one with passengers. Consultants will review > notes and=20 videotapes from the sessions, then combine them into a report > for Singapore= =20 > executives. The airline works with Airbus to incorporate its ideas into > the= =20 > cabin. No matter how many of the ideas eventually are adopted, > passengers=20 said they were grateful to be invited. "I'm not sure what I > was expecting.= =20 > At least for the airline, they are willing to look for our input and > make=20 (the plane) more comfortable," Lukasik said. > > > > The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: > Roj (Roger James) > *************************************************** > escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca > Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com > CBC Website > http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ > The Trinbago Site of the Week: > (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ > (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) > courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory > Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com > TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt > ********************************************************* -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9mzNpKsvwCXwmAPgRAu9DAKCJ4+WvkE/tFEnbHQhal+qva/KwIACfdhkb asQRQY24XfPKvl6OgybWDiM= =73BS -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----