Aircraft completions specialist Lufthansa Technik (LHT) and Mercedes-Benz Style will jointly develop “an entirely innovative, luxurious and integrated cabin concept” for short- and medium-haul VIP aircraft, the companies announced here at EBACE. Their interior concept features a dynamic, spiral layout, creating new independent spatial zones without the typical arrangement of seat and wall elements.

Mercedes-Benz brings the aesthetic appeal of its state-of-the-art luxury brand and LHT contributes its experience in customized executive and head-of-state aircraft interiors. Target customers are “global clientele with a strong affinity for unique design,” according to the companies.

Gorden Wagener, vice president of Design Daimler AG, calls it “an inspiring challenge to transfer our design philosophy of sensual purity into the area of aeronautical engineering,” while Walter Heerdt, LHT’s senior vice president of VIP and executive jet solutions, said, “Whether for private or business use, our modular completion concept perfectly fits every purpose.”

The partners describe the interior as “organic and homogeneous, like a DNA helix,” with furniture merging seamlessly with the cabin interior. Windows are concealed by so-called black panels, inspired by the screen design in the Mercedes–Benz S-class.

Mercedes-Benz Magic Sky technology allows the panels to be dimmed electrically from black to transparent. The companies will evaluate the general level of market interest while developing details of the design concept over coming months.

The epitome of LHT’s completion capabilities can be seen here at its EBACE display in miniature with a Boeing 747-8 scale model and in full-scale in its cabin products being shown. In a first, the company is displaying the prototype of a fireplace designed for installation in an aircraft, should a customer request such a feature or something equally innovative.

“We can make dreams fly,” said Wieland Timm, director of sales, VIP and special mission aircraft. “It’s not real fire, but we can create everything including heat and the intensity of the flame.”

Other innovations on display include “chair,” a light and flexible family of seating for VIP interiors nearing certification, and LHT’s DishwashAir, a dishwasher specially designed for use onboard passenger aircraft, which is making its EBACE debut.

Also new to EBACE are Leadership Select, a “design your own aircraft” iPad app that attendees (and customers) can use to configure an executive airliner interior that meets their individual needs, and LHT’s next generation Patient Transport Unit, designed to meet the medical needs of any passenger traveling on an executive airliner. LHT design and technical specialists are on hand to discuss these and other products.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa Technik announced that its narrowbody completion subsidiary in the U.S., BizJet International, will perform an ACJ319 completion in cooperation with the bespoke division of Hermes for an undisclosed customer from Taiwan. The seats and divans will be designed and upholstered by Hermes craftsmen in Paris, and the interior will features exclusive Hermes fabric on select bulkheads and curtains.

BizJet International has also become the first independent MRO to secure a Tay 611-8C spare from Rolls-Royce, making it the only company besides the OEM to have this model spare. The new lease engine is a valuable asset for G450 operators “who want their aircraft in service while their engines are undergoing midlife inspection,” said Criss Berry, vice president of BizJet Engine Services.