LONDON – French aircraft manufacturer Airbus has recently opened its ACJ TwoTwenty (ACJ220) creative studio in Toulouse France. The new ACJ220 mock-up cabins are located next to the cabin mock-ups of other ACJs. The new cabin mock-up will better serve customers who wish to control the customisation process of their new VIP A220.
Airbus Corporate Jets president Benoit Defforge said: “We are extremely proud to open this unique creative studio for our customers. It is important to make them feel the space and ultimate comfort it is bringing, thanks to the latest technologies we offer our customers, a real-time and immersive design experience.”
The ACJ220s have been gaining popularity over the past years as this particular aircraft is way more fuel-efficient than the A320 ACJs Family. The creative studio has created many fanfares from its traditional customer base such as Comlux group, which has its exclusive completion centre in Indianapolis. Comlux Group has completed its first 15 ACJ A220s.
As of the time of writing, there are no ACJA220s demonstration flights according to Chadi Saade Vice PResident of Airbus Corporate Jets, and the mock-up is beneficial for customers to aid in visualising the cabin and getting the real feel of the aircraft.
Saade added: “This is extremely important, while the creative studio will always complement seeing the actual aircraft. This is a great first step while waiting for the [demonstrator] aircraft. This will be an efficient tool to finalize the design and selection of options.”
Here at the mock-up facility, customers can customise their aircraft for their own taste, from a completely bare interior to a fully furnished cabin, with the ability to selections of 6 configurable zones. Customers even have the ability to customise small details such as carpets, veneer and metal trims finishings.
The customer also has the ability to configure the aircraft cabin online, and a stunning virtual reality (VR) programme and a VR headset will be also provided for the customer to view the aircraft in full 3D.
Sylvain Mariat, head of Airbus Corporate Jets creative design stated: “We predefine the options for the cabin. It was a huge discussion to make something easy for customization [of the cabin].”
“The creative studio is an extension of the concept of the A220, with a lot of high-end tools and the latest technology for the customer to choose their interior. It was very exciting in my life and work at Airbus to design this kind of specific project.”
“The result is very magic. We can go very far in customization, and in the end make something unique, depending on the customer’s taste.”
Saade then later added “Previously we had a fully customized cabin on the ACJ319 and ACJ320. The customer needed lots of support. Now the customer goes in the integrator and decides what it looks like. It’s way different than what we were previously doing and like what others are doing.”
“But it doesn’t mean they can’t customize their interior. There are 200 different colours and fabrics they can choose from. That’s fine-tuning. The bulk of the customization is done [with the configurator] then the customer gets into the general ambiance with their own designer or with the help of Sylvain.”
Having such mock-ups will allow the Airbus team to have a friendlier working environment with the customer as of this moment, there is no prototype ACJs flying for the showcase. As the competition for airliner business jets heats up between, Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, this move is a good leap forward for Airbus.
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