design et al are delighted to announce shortlist success for the London-based Acumen Design Associates at the International Yacht & Aviation Awards 2015. “The Apartments” will compete in the Commercial Cabin (First Class) category.

In 2008, Etihad Airways embarked on a search for a leading design agency partner to design the future cabin interiors for their new fleet of A380 (and latterly B787) aircraft. With an ambition to be the ‘best airline in the world,’ Etihad outlined a vision for their project that would build on their success and continue to redefine airline travel. The EDC – Etihad Design Consortium – was created bringing together three companies. Acumen was chosen to design the on-board seating across First Class, Business and Economy. Factorydesign was tasked to design the passenger experience and cabin interior such as galleys, lavatories and passenger destination zones. Honour Branding’s role was to coordinate the project and interface with Etihad.

‘The Apartments’ First Class Cabin is the world’s largest, most luxurious and highly-customised first-class suite, achieved via a revolutionary patent-pending cabin layout. The single central aisle (1:1) of ‘The Apartments’ is completely unique and different to any product that has gone before, with real room-like proportions, offering a separate seat and bed without compromise to either, and corridor of floor-space allowing dynamic passenger movement around the suite. This provides the passenger more choice in how and where they relax, eat, sleep, and even entertain other guests.

In 6 of the 9 suites, the passengers can even open up the suites into doubles creating a spectacular space. The increased storage space has allowed the overhead bins to be removed and pave the way for the highest privacy walls in the sky – giving a unique architectural feel to the cabin.

With an unrivalled space of 39 square feet, ‘The Apartments’ is likely to set the benchmark in luxury First-Class travel.