Defining cabins for customers - building a dream from a distance
The Airspace Customer Definition Centre (CDC) in Hamburg is a very unique place dedicated to cabin customisation where customers can experiment and see what their future cabin will look like, using fully integrated mock-ups and a wide variety of virtual reality tools, under one single roof.
“Testing cabin comfort, ambience functionality and lighting design is typically an emotional experience we offer our customers in the Customer Definition Centre. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the challenge we have faced is to re-invent the ways we interact with customers, providing the highest level of cabin definition in a fully digital way”, explains Alexander Jürs, Customer Service and Communication Manager at the CDC in Hamburg.
A virtual cabin definition experience
In close cooperation with Airbus' subsidiary Testia and Information Management teams, the CDC was able to run customer definitions for the cabin, using a combination of virtual remote assistance, video conferences and live 3D Digital Mock-Up (DMU), when attendance in person was not possible. The combined solution offered by this partnership is available on smartphones and supporting digital devices enabling customers, suppliers and Airbus to perform many aspects of the cabin definition process on time, quality and without incurring additional costs.
In 2020, around a third of all CDC definition meetings have been managed virtually, with an overall customer satisfaction rate of 96%. Air New Zealand was one of the many airlines to benefit from the newly developed capability in the CDC. “Due to the pandemic and the need to continue development work remotely on cabin interiors. It is great to see Airbus thinking ahead on how the CDC can service the needs of the airlines. The remote live lighting session was excellent and very beneficial for us,” says Ed Collett the new Aircraft Programme Manager for Air New Zealand.
“In these difficult times, our customers are increasingly aware that our virtual live definition sessions are an efficient solution to reconnect all relevant stakeholders in one single digital place - even if they are looking forward to coming back physically in the CDC as soon as they can,” says Alexander.
2021 seems to confirm this trend and the remote solution developed by Airbus and Testia continues to smooth the customers’ cabin definition journey.