Locally based NORDAM’s new aircraft cabin concept up for global award | Local Business News

An aerospace company headquartered in Tulsa, NORDAM collaborated with Seattle-based Teague, which has unveiled “Elevate,” touted as the world’s first single-aisle aircraft cabin that uses “floating” furniture to re-imagine the in-flight passenger experience.

The Crystal Cabin Award will be handed out June 14 during the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2022 in Hamburg, Germany.

Intended to initiate significant improvement in passenger comfort, it is the only international award for excellence in aircraft interior innovation.

Made from a moldable carbon fiber compound that is as strong as aluminum but half the weight, Nbrace is a aircraft seat-track attachment technology that exponentially increases the range of possible passenger cabin configurations and reduces the size, visual weight and literal weight of in-cabin furnishings. With Nbrace, these furnishings can appear to be floating.

Single-aisle aircrafts are increasingly being used for long-haul flights. As more of these aircraft enter service, the onboard passenger experience is in direct competition with twin-aisle aircraft that fly the same routes.

Passengers may feel the premium experience in a narrow-body cabin does not meet or exceed the standard of a wide-body, owing to the reduced cabin footprint, seat pitch and constrained cabin architecture.

To date, innovation in the cabin interior has been limited due to furniture attachment points being in the seat-tracks only. “Elevate” is said to be the first cabin in history to implement sidewall attachment points that enable the creation of a lighter and more efficient suite environment.

By using mounted fixtures in the sidewall that eliminate restrictive structures around the monitor, side-furniture and ottoman, the concept increases the bed size, living space and stowage capacity for every passenger, providing a larger floor space and promoting an expansive living space.

A global leader in advanced composite engineering and manufacturing, NORDAM intends to supply Nbrace to airlines and aviation companies worldwide to spark further innovation throughout the cabin.

“This is a next-generation innovation that enables more creative freedom for the aircraft interior design community,” NORDAM CEO Meredith Siegfried Madden said in a statement.

“By revolutionizing how seats and other monuments attach to an aircraft, Nbrace recruits previously wasted space, transforming it into new aesthetic possibilities and dramatically improved passenger comfort, space and privacy.”