New airplane business class seat design has huge 45-inch TV screen

By Francesca Street, CNN

(CNN) — Now that we carry around personal devices with high resolution, 4K screens in our back pockets, the seatback screens on airplanes can seem more than a little disappointing.

Even if you’ve opted for the priciest seats on the airplane, your inbuilt cabin screen is likely going to be poorer quality than the screen on your iPhone.

That’s where airplane seat manufacturer Collins Aerospace and inflight entertainment provider Panasonic Avionics step in. The two aviation powerhouses recently joined forces to reimagine the future of airplane TV and movie-viewing, via a swanky concept called MAYA.

MAYA, which stands for “Most Advanced Yet Achievable,” is an ergonomic business class seat that comes equipped with an Astrova Curve 45-inch ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition OLED display.

The screen syncs up with passengers’ personal devices, offering an impressive headphone-less audio system. It all adds up to what Andrew Masson, vice president of product management and strategy at Panasonic Avionics, calls a “most immersive experience for the passenger.”

Collins and Panasonic’s concept was one of the buzziest innovations on show last week at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany – a major annual aviation show.

According to Masson, the concept was well-received by industry insiders at AIX.

“It was seen by many as [a] major step forward in premium travel, and aligned with their needs for innovating the passenger experience,” he tells CNN Travel.

Cinema experience

Not only is MAYA’s curved screen three times larger than classic business class seat options, Panasonic also envisages the seat offering an Ultra-Widescreen CinemaScope (21:9) display – a screen format more commonly found in cinemas.

With that in mind, Masson calls the screen the “cinematic centerpiece” of MAYA’s design, but stresses the screen’s not only designed for movies. Passengers will also be able to use the screen to request meal orders, view maps and connect to their own personal device.

Of course, some might be put off by the screen’s dominance in the suite – not everyone spends their flight watching movies, and it’s quite an intense feature.

But for those who save up their favorite films to watch at 30,000 feet, MAYA will definitely have an appeal.

When asked about the potential for the super high tech display to quickly become obsolete in today’s fast-changing technology driven world, Masson suggests the screen’s “upgradable over time” and built upon “a sustainable technology path.”

“With such an integral role within the suite, we do not see any risk of obsolescence,” he says.

For now, MAYA remains a product concept – and specification, production processes and timeframes are still to be defined and developed.

But Masson and his team are confident in the concept’s future.

“We showcased MAYA to many airlines at AIX, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” he says.

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