Last week saw JetBlue, alongside its official design partner, Acumen Design Associates, unveil the latest cabin interior design for the airline’s new A321neo aircraft.
The aircraft is already servicing the New York JFK to Fort Lauderdale route and will eventually serve two new international routes for JetBlue: New York JFK to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and New York JFK to Georgetown, Guyana.
The stylish new cabin sets the standard for the airlines passenger experience, and matches the brand experience on the ground. The cabin features JetBlue’s signature free on-board Wi-Fi; brand new 10-inch IFE screens in every seat back; a welcoming, bold entrance with a privacy partition; and the redesigned self-service snack and drinks station midway through the cabin.
Now renamed ‘The Pantry’, this on-board self-service space features a more residential design approach, combining the airline’s distinctive blue colours with natural wood finishes and soft downlights – creating an engaging space for customers to socialise and refresh with complimentary food and drinks, just like they would at home. Customers are subtly guided to this zone by creative mood lighting, which creates a blue hoop in the middle of the cabin, resonating with the denim-style carpet of the main cabin.
The cabin has also been fitted with the Collins Aerospace Meridian seat, which offers an improved seat width of 18 inches. Both JetBlue’s Core and Even More Space seats feature a custom-made, E-leather dress cover designed by Acumen and manufactured by upholstery specialists Sabeti Wain Aerospace.
The Core dress cover has been embellished with the airline’s distinctive blue branding, while the Even More Space seats feature a bold orange halo, highlighting the increase in seat pitch (at least 35-inches). The seats also include adjustable padded headrests as standard, ensuring all customers have the required head and neck support to enjoy the in-flight experience.
What is really nifty, is Acumen’s new ‘backpack’ stowage system that has been introduced on every seat back throughout the cabin. Featuring more pockets and a woven elastic grid that can be configured to suit individual needs, the design has improved the functionality of a part of the seat which is often ignored.
Customers are now able to securely store, organise and charge multiple personal items – such as phones, tablets, headphones and passports – and easily access them when needed.
The main entranceway to the aircraft has also been redesigned providing more privacy between galley and cabin. Acumen integrated the bold JetBlue identity into a strong architectural signature at the door, which included a bespoke graphic arc flooring design and customised front row partition.
Alongside its privacy benefits, the partition also offers fold down tables and new stowage options for crew iPads, as well as a subtle window to facilitate a direct view of the cabin for crew seated in the attendant seats.
Daniel Clucas, senior designer at Acumen Design Associates commented: “JetBlue has a long-standing reputation in the aviation industry as an airline that puts the customer at the heart of everything it does. By re-working the LOPA and developing custom stowage options, we were able to give customers more choice in how they use their increased space. We worked JetBlue’s brand image into every part of the cabin, and the new design greatly improves the narrow body flying experience, offering JetBlue customers an incredible leap forward, unmatched by its US rivals.”
Andrew Litavis, product development manager at JetBlue said: “It is not every day two innovative powerhouses of the industry come together to create something new, but that is exactly what has happened here. Built with our crew members and our customers in mind, the new A321 cabin is unlike any other single-aisle aircraft interior flying today – and will redefine expectations for economy travellers taking to the skies.”
TheDesignAir 