The mission of better sustainability in aviation remains the top priority for the industry, with most of the discussion circling around the carbon footprint left by aviation fuel and how to reduce its use. However, aviation segments like aircraft interiors, exteriors, and completions are the next ones in line to step up in sustainability, as they search for more eco-friendly ways of furnishing aircraft.
High-quality, aerospace-grade materials used not only in aircraft manufacturing but in interiors, exteriors, and completions as well, are a tough puzzle when it comes to eco-friendliness in the segment. With a number of safety regulations in place, it has been a challenge to find the perfect mix of safe, durable, sustainable, and aesthetical. However, Keiron McNeill, Managing Director at JETMS Completions – an established and respected aircraft interior, exterior, and completions company – a part of JETMS Group and Avia Solutions Group, strongly believes that reaching sustainability in the aircraft interiors and exteriors segment is closer than most think.
“The aircraft interiors, exteriors, and completions segment has been in search of more eco-friendly solutions for some time now. The challenge we as a segment face is a straightforward one – finding and partnering with manufacturers that would produce safe, durable, and sustainable materials that are also decorative. But with today’s technological advancements in creating sustainable materials, we can start making that change. I do believe, with the right behaviours, in just ten years’ time fully-recycled materials will be used to manufacture aircraft components – starting with interiors.”
McNeill notes that in order to achieve better sustainability, partnerships are key. They would open up new and exciting possibilities for both the segment and manufacturers and, most importantly, set an example for ways to approach and adopt eco-friendliness in aviation.
“There is a brilliant opportunity here to open up and step into an industry-changing niche market for eco-materials designed for aviation,” explains Mc Neill. “As a long-term programme, sustainable aircraft cabin component designs, their manufacturing, and offering it as an option in the first place, would start playing a very significant overall role not only in the segment but the industry itself. We’ve always been striving for innovative solutions – as our recently launched aircraft exterior-interior maintenance programme has shown – and bringing better sustainability into the field has been on our minds for some time now. It’s just a matter of finding partnerships for the project, that share in our determination to make this happen.”
Adopting sustainability in aviation segments like aircraft interiors and exteriors is an important step towards the wider eco-friendliness the industry is targeting to achieve. The good news is that the solutions are possible. The only thing that is left to do is to bring materials manufacturers to the unexplored market.
