Come Fly With Me

His mother loved pottery, art runs in the family. However, for Daniel MacInnes the exciting part of design is something beyond shapes: "You can create a new experience and open up a different world for customers." MacInnes, who has been with the design studio PriestmanGoode for 22 years, is fascinated by this idea – regardless of whether he is designing cell phones and PDAs, as he did at the beginning of his career, or a home above the clouds for Lufthansa. This is exactly what the designer has created with Lufthansa Allegris: a flying living room and bedroom with maximum focus on individuality and exclusivity: "Our aim was to create a First Class in which passengers don’t feel like they’re on an airplane – but rather in a hotel or at home."

The sofa at home at an altitude of 11 kilometers, so to speak – a personal, almost private place. Comfortable, luxurious and with seats that can even be combined to form a double bed. In addition, noble but discreet and warm materials: "After all, you don’t have metal strips on your couch at home, either," explains MacInnes. The greatest thing about aviation design is being able to push the boundaries, he says: "Airlines want to offer their customers something unique." With the Lufthansa Allegris First Class, MacInnes has definitely delivered.

When something becomes challenging, Luke Pearson is blossoming. The co-founder of London-based studio Pearson Lloyd likes to think things through. He’s convinced that design should meet challenges – concerning business class, for example, the fact that passengers are becoming increasingly heterogeneous. Although they may have the same destination, they have different needs: "Some prefer to work, others want to relax or be entertained. Our aim was not just to design new seats, but to customize the travel experience." The Lufthansa Allegris Business Class therefore features a modular system of five different seat designs, which differ in terms of storage space or privacy, for example. Passengers can configure the environment to suit their needs. Pearson – his mother was a fashion designer, his father a painter – puts it poetically: travelers become "rulers over space and time" in their realm.

Aircraft seats are a complex product subjected to intensive use. When developing them, ergonomics, technical feasibility and what Pearson calls "emotional ergonomics" – the feel-good factor – must be taken into account. A complicated matter – but Pearson loves challenges. 

Christoffer Stratmann isn’t satisfied with second-best solutions, especially when it comes to comfort. At the age of 15 he sat in an airplane for the first time. Now he spends a large part of his working life traveling. Stratmann heads the Aircraft Seating division at Lufthansa and is responsible for the development of new seating systems. No one has to explain to the industrial designer that comfort and service make the difference for passengers: "It is in Lufthansa’s DNA to fulfill customers’ wishes," for example, with an additional Premium Economy Class with more space. Or with the heating and cooling technology for First and Business Class seats: travelers can create an individual climate environment. Stratmann goes into raptures when he talks about wafer-thin heating mats and complex cooling effects: "We are the first airline to offer this option."

Every 10 years a new generation of seats comes onto the market. As a former consultant and restorer, Stratmann has the perfect blend of overview and love of ergonomic details. The efforts involved in development are huge, and the demands on certification high. "Comfort is important, but safety is our top priority."

You will soon be able to gain even deeper insights into the fascinating work of Lufthansa Allegris designers – in three videos.

Klaus Werle is Content Principal at the agency C3. He previously worked as an editor, department head and reporter at manager magazin. His most frequent Lufthansa route at that time: Hamburg – Munich.