Creating sense of being at home was one of the key motivations for Dutch airline KLM in the new design of their World Business Class cabin interiors.
The driving force behind the design, which includes seating, carpeting, décor, curtains, lighting and blankets, was Hella Jongerius.
The KLM blue colour is still the foundation but Jongerius added other shades and colours to the palette, including purple, grey, brown and white. This palette was the result of taking various colour swatches onboard to see how the colours would be perceived in different lighting conditions.
Interestingly, the carpets were partially made from discarded KLM uniforms. With blue dots as stars, the carpet was inspired by an image of the Milky Way.
A wide variety of technical requirements need to be adhered to for aircraft interiors. Jongerius achieved this by simplifying the seat (which folds flat) and using high-quality textiles for the upholstery
The new designs will be seen in KLM’s fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft from July 2013.
