Mercedes-Benz reaches out for the skies, to develop VIP aircraft cabin with Lufthansa Technik

Mercedes-Benz Style and Lufthansa Technik have announced their cooperation on the design and completion of VIP aircraft cabins. The two companies will jointly develop an entirely innovative, luxurious and integrated cabin concept for short- and medium-haul aircraft.

Since 2010, in addition to classic automobile design, Mercedes-Benz designers have also created designs for other products in cooperation with selected partners under the label ‘Mercedes-Benz Style’. The aim is to transfer Mercedes-Benz's unmistakable, progressive design idiom and high standards of luxury and aesthetic appeal to other spheres of life.

Under the joint approach adopted by the two companies, the traditional separation of ceiling, wall and floor will be entirely replaced by a dynamic, spiral layout. This gives rise to new, independent spatial zones without the typical arrangement of seat and wall elements. The new sense of space is additionally reinforced by Mercedes's typically strong emphasis on contrast in terms of material, colour and lighting. The overall design is characterised by the aesthetic appeal of state-of-the-art luxury embodied in the Mercedes-Benz brand. Mercedes-Benz Style and Lufthansa Technik plans to target this innovative concept at a private global clientele with a strong affinity for unique design.

"It was an inspiring challenge to transfer our design philosophy of sensual purity into the area of aeronautical engineering. The spectacular architecture of the interior shows creativity and modernity. Sensual surfaces and clear forms, combined with intelligent high-tech features and perfectly shaped modern luxury are the characteristic features of Mercedes-Benz design," says Gorden Wagener, vice-president Design Daimler AG.

"The purpose of our cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Style is to unite the two companies' innovative expertise in the areas of design and technology. Our goal is to offer a highly discerning global clientele a standard of interior design that leaves nothing to be desired. Whether for private or business use, our modular completion concept perfectly fits every purpose," says Walter Heerdt, senior vice-president, VIP & Executive Jet Solutions, Lufthansa Technik AG.

In a departure from the familiar design of aircraft interiors, the cabin concept adopts an entirely new approach. The interior of the cabin is organic and homogeneous like a DNA helix. Floor, wall and ceiling flow into each other. Featuring numerous innovative details, the furniture with its sensuous clarity of design merges seamlessly with the cabin interior. The cabin windows are concealed by so-called black panels, which, inspired by the screen design in the Mercedes‑Benz S-Class, appear to float in front of the window like a light corona. Innovative Mercedes-Benz Magic Sky technology allows the panels to be dimmed electrically from black to transparent. Displays and touch screens for entertainment and information can easily be integrated into the black panels.