F/List (Booth 4488) is presenting this week at NBAA-BACE a materials-oriented and integrated technology-focused display centered on sustainability. It features sustainable cabin materials that the Austrian company is developing or has already made available.
F/List gained a reputation in the VIP market over the last decade for its bespoke interior components—first in super yachts and luxury residences and then in business aircraft—with products including ultra-thin stone and wood veneer surfaces. “But now we’re diving into a lot of sustainability elements, and that leads us into different types of materials,” said Melanie Prince, head of innovation at the company.
“They are super interesting, a super different design direction, and sustainable at the same time. And a cost-conscious alternative, as well,” said Prince, who invites NBAA attendees to see, touch, and learn more about the materials at the F/List display.
Though sustainability is likely the most-used word in business aviation today, Prince noted that most of the emphasis is on SAF, weight savings, and new propulsion technologies. “We’re trying to also bring a sustainable element to the interior in a way that is attractive for the audience that is flying these aircraft,” while keeping the end focus on cabin comfort and aesthetics, she said. “It doesn’t have to scream ‘sustainability.’ You don’t need green leaves everywhere. But it has to look and feel very, very high-end. So we’re concentrating on materials that are bringing designs forward as well.” That includes “shape shifter” technology that can create dynamic, changing spaces in the cabin, as in a galley countertop shown in a rendering that disappears into the sidewall, creating more working space.
Many of the sustainable materials mimic the look of high-end counterparts and can perform better, Prince added, This includes a leather alternative that’s lighter and better wearing than ultra-leather, and a lighter, recyclable, bio-based version of Corian for countertops. “We grew a very good portfolio of stuff that actually works and that is actually sustainable.
“There’s a lot of greenwashing out there,” Prince said. “We’re presenting materials that are really bio-based, and that don’t have to create a compromise.”
F/List’s quest for innovative materials includes collaborations with companies beyond aerospace, from industrial design to fashion firms, the latter including work with suppliers to Burberry and Gucci. Once materials with promising properties are identified, “our in-house people can modify it to make it aerospace suitable,” said Prince. “We’ve been trialing many permutations from many sources. That’s a huge differentiator for us; we can internally take a source material to a whole new level.”
The innovation team draws on the talents of some 30 employees from a variety of disciplines.
All the sustainable materials must meet standards for flammability, fluid resistance, and wear, as well as be easy to work with, whether for installation by OEMs on the assembly line, an MRO in the aftermarket, or a VIP completion center. F/List is pitching sustainable materials and interior components to all three markets.
The airframers, she said, want “risk-free, easy implementation” but are actively looking into sustainability, she said. Some are exploring F/List’s materials portfolio, though Prince declined to disclose names of those OEMs.
Selling VIP completion customers on a green cabin requires a different approach.
“Sustainability may not be the first thing to discuss, but the exclusivity and customization of it is,” Prince said. “Once we’ve made them ourselves, they’re fully customizable, and we can tell them, ‘You’re the only one in the world to have this.’ Sometimes they like to talk to their friends about something very unique they have in an aircraft, and this is one of those things.”
The entry of a new and younger generation of VIP aircraft buyers is helping advance the cabin sustainability cause, Prince said.
“They are very conscious about [sustainability],” she said. “That aircraft is a very efficient means of transportation for them, but they don’t want to compromise on the sustainability aspect. So these conversations are much easier to have—they’re already open to the sustainability topic. Other owners bring the topic up themselves.”
F/List’s innovations team also has a growing electronics department, through which it is integrating technology and sustainable materials with applications including sensors and gesture control. “We can bring much more to the table than just sustainable material,” Prince said.
But F/List has no plans to push these into tomorrow’s cabins.
“Gesture control and voice command seem very cool, but they’re very difficult to put in a real use case,” Prince said. “I put myself in the shoes of fleet operators, where people are walking in and out of the aircraft and will never see it again. You don’t want to have to read the manual to be able to open the vent or turn on the reading light.”