[Aviation News]

Dassault Aviation Reveals Enhanced Cabin Experience for Falcon 8X

Dassault Aviation unveiled a new, enhanced interior design intended to provide added comfort and ergonomics on its flagship aircraft, the ultra-long-range Falcon 8X. The redesign builds on Falcon traditions of elegance, style, craftsmanship and maximizing passenger productivity.

“The upgrade incorporates the latest cabin technology and contemporary stylistic thinking from our interior teams. We’ve taken a proven platform, and, with the help of extensive customer input, enhanced it with a range of new features intended to enhance cabin comfort.”
Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation

Drawing on innovative features in the award-winning cabin of the Falcon 6X, the restyled interior design for the Falcon 8X presents a fresh look, with flowing lines and curved surfaces intended to provide a perception of uninterrupted spaciousness from one end to the other. New LED lighting, including high-quality white light and a variety of programmable settings, reduces strain on the eyes while new sunrise/sunset functions help adapt to new time zones and stimulate a natural circadian rhythm on long, intercontinental flights.

The 8X cabin remains the most versatile in the industry, with multiple cabin configuration options, including a spacious galley, plus-size stateroom options, and an optional extended aft lav with shower. At the same time, it allows a high degree of customization, especially for passengers who make frequent use of the 8X’s 6,450 nautical mile intercontinental range.

New acoustics reinforce the 8X cabin’s standing as the quietest on the market. Noise levels average below 50 dB— as quiet as a suburban living room —thanks to careful acoustic mapping and application of isolation mounts, noise reduction materials and fine-tuning of environment systems designed to modulate potentially distracting frequencies.

Throughout the cabin, the reimagined design reflects attention to detail and subtle changes specially introduced to improve the passenger experience. Typical of these are additional iPad storage and charging areas in the mid-cabin bulkhead that keep personal devices easily accessible but out of sight when not required. The entryway/ galley area also displays a number of new features — largely based on cabin crew feedback — including a more comfortable crew rest area and an improved, more efficient galley equipped with a larger sink, new faucet, better lighting, larger chiller, and increased storage space.

A new Innovative Cabin System (ICS) combines and simplifies control of cabin management and entertainment functions. The ICS interface is intuitive and can be activated via a personal device (as many passengers prefer) or via cabin touch panels. The latter are flush-mounted into the cabin side ledge. Touch sensitivity is similar to that on a smartphone or tablet device.

The cabin is fully Bluetooth capable, allowing passengers to stream music through the aircraft’s speakers or through a wireless headset. Once connected through Bluetooth, the ICS app identifies a passenger’s seated location and proposes environmental settings for temperature, lighting and window shade adjustment.

Dassault’s FalconConnect communications service provides a full line-up of passenger cabin connectivity applications, including real-time videoconferencing, voice over IP, Internet browsing, and email, virtually anywhere, anytime.
Other passenger-pleasing features include FalconSkyView, which streams the view ahead on aircraft outfitted with external cameras, and the 8X’s Digital Flight Control System, whose revolutionary design ensures an ultra-smooth ride, whatever the weather conditions, making the cabin experience more peaceful and relaxing than ever before.

Emirates’ First Retired A380 to be Repurposed in the UAE

Emirates’ first retired A380 will be fully repurposed in the UAE in a pioneering initiative with Falcon Aviation Recycling to save most of the aircraft from landfill

Emirates has signed a contract with UAE-based Falcon Aircraft Recycling on a pioneering initiative, where its first retired A380 aircraft will be upcycled and recycled, dramatically reducing the environmental impact of the deconstruction process and drastically reducing landfill waste.

The extensive materials recovery and repurposing activities will be entirely conducted in the UAE, the airline’s home base, further reducing the project’s environmental footprint.

Increasingly, retired aircraft are flown to remote locations and left to languish after being stripped for parts. Traditional salvage and recycling projects focus on recovering only profitable components, thereby leaving behind a substantial portion of the aircraft and materials that go into landfill or sit idle indefinitely for years. Also, many aircraft items can be difficult to recycle or dispose, for instance fire retardant fabrics and composite materials.

“We are delighted to partner with Falcon Aircraft Recycling on this first-of-its-kind project. That all repurposing activity will be fully executed in the UAE also speaks to the strong aviation eco-system and capabilities that the nation has built up in its short history. Through this initiative, our customers and fans can take home a piece of aviation history while saving valuable materials from landfill and contributing to a charitable cause through the Emirates Airline Foundation. It’s an elegant and fitting retirement solution for this iconic aircraft and our flagship.”
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates airline

“This is our most ambitious project to date which will see the first deconstruction of an A380 outside of Europe. Approximately 190 tonnes of various metals, plastics, carbon fiber composites and other materials will be removed from the aircraft and passed on for recycling or repurposing via our upcycling programme with Wings Craft. The recovery programme will be delivered fully within the UAE and ensure that the majority of the aircraft will find a second life. We are proud to have won this contract which underscores Emirates’ confidence in the world-class capabilities available here in the UAE. Our teams are currently busy with the breakdown and final concepts for the first batch of unique upcycled items. We look forward to unveiling more information on the retail items soon.”
Andrew Tonks, Director of Falcon Aircraft Recycling

The iconic 1^st generation Emirates A380 onboard bar and other cabin features will be transformed into bespoke furniture, plus a range of aviation memorabilia and retail items. A portion of sale profits will be directed to benefit the Emirates Airline Foundation.

After completing its last commercial mission, A6-EDA, the first A380 ever delivered to Emirates, was retired from service and brought to the airline’s Engineering Centre where Emirates engineers retrieved serviceable components such as engines, landing gears and flight control components. The aircraft was then deregistered and handed over to the Falcon Aircraft Recycling team to begin the process of carefully breaking down the aircraft.

Partnering with Wings Craft, another UAE-based firm that specialises in producing custom furniture and merchandise from aircraft materials, Falcon Aircraft Recycling will design and manufacture unique collectibles and retail items from the materials and parts removed from the aircraft. These items will be launched for sale in phases over the coming months.

A portion of profits from the sale of all items upcycled and recycled from Emirates’ first retired A380 will benefit the Emirates Airline Foundation.

Emirates’ first A380, previously operating as A6-EDA, was retired after an illustrious service record with some highlights that include: