New front row monuments (FRMs) developed by AIM Altitude and Thompson Aero Seating have been installed on China Southern’s Boeing 787-9 fleet.
With the cabin concept designed by factorydesign, the FRMs, with integrated stowages, were manufactured from standard composite panel and laminate finishes, to harmonise with the seats and carry the same aesthetic features.
The monuments align the foot-well area with the seats to provide a continuous lie-flat bed surface when the seat foot-rest is deployed. The IFE monitors and literature pockets were manufactured with surrounds to match the seats, and the footwell ramps complement the seat footrests.
For the outboard units, AIM Altitude created full-height closets, with coat rails and door-activated interior lights, integrated with the front of the half-height front-row seat furniture.
According to Colin Winterburn, Engineering Lead at AIM Altitude: “There were many complex challenges in making the whole scheme succeed with a unified and continuous flow. For example, integrated closets, with overhead bin-ends, close out in the tapered section of the fuselage and needed to align with the Boeing-installed structure.”
