An intimate look at something we take for granted, the insides of the planes we fly. The designers sure don’t take any part of airline cabin design for granted, and this book provides an insider’s survey of what goes into the design decisions we usually ignore, as we fly high on fear, exhaustion, and liquor. Branding is everything, as every aluminum cigar-tube hurtling through the air is pretty much the same as another. This book provides a look at a design world we never really “see,” and it is a fascinating read.
—Hennessey & Ingalls
Jennifer Coutts Clay’s beautiful desktop glossy is as fine as any first-class set up on an airline. It really is a book for the specialist but the fine colour photographs of both old and new are a joy to behold.
—Air & Business Travel News
Jetliner Cabins manages to be as entertaining as it is educational. Although it should be of interest to anyone who flies; it has particular appeal for the frequent flyer. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know, and then some, about design, function, construction and maintenance of an environment most of us take for granted, the passenger seating area of the modern jet aircraft.
—Frequent Flyer [ Click to read full article » ]
His observation got me thinking and questioning: why has this most frequented of small spaces been so seldom the subject of any thorough investigation? Well, now thanks to Jennifer Coutts Clay’s informative 192-page compendium, Jetliner Cabins, it has. The long time airline marketing consultant, sometime airline executive and most recently columnist, touches in succinct tones on virtually every aspect of an airliner’s interior – from aesthetics and design to technology and comfort.
— Farhad Heydari, Space [ Click to read full article » ]
As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time inside airplanes, I remain fascinated with everything airline, and this book certainly fuels that obsession. In a world where jet travel has become so much more a commodity than an experience, this serves as a reminder of the way things used to be, as well as what they still can be. For anyone interested in airline engineering, design, branding, from lighting choices to even the color of airline seats, this is a definite upgrade.
—Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, NBC’s Today Show
A walk down the aisles of some of the world’s leading airlines over the last three decades awaits readers of a detailed study of the design of commercial aircraft interiors … Its 192 pages cover every aspect of interior design, from materials to function and construction to mainteneance that go into keeping the customer satisfied; all lavishly illustrated.
—British Airways News [ Click to read full article » ]
JUST DON’T TRY TO OPEN THIS BOOK SITTING IN AN RJ SEAT
Want to torture yourself? The next time that you are sandwiched in a seat so tight that you can barely breathe let alone open your laptop, haul out Jennifer Coutts Clay’s book, Jetliner Cabins. Then flip to page 143 and check out the upper-deck lounge on Braniff International Airlines’ Boeing 747 aircraft from the early 1970s. The lounge featured red-leather banquette seating, brass cocktail tables, wiiiiiiiiide, wide chairs and more walk-around space than a New York City apartment. Clay, former corporate identity chief for British Airways and now a consultant, has journeyed pictorially and historically from the past (the Wright Brothers’ open-air cabin) to the present (Lufthansa’s all-business-class jets operated by PrivatAir of Switzerland) and to the future (cutaway renderings of the tri-level Airbus A380). There’s nothing on the upcoming B787 Dreamliner, however. Still, Clay’s meticulous research and 350 mostly color visuals of jetliner cabins right down to Pan Am’s gourmet dining room and carpet swatches for five airlines (one dead and two bankrupt) make it a fascinating addition to a business-travel buff’s library. A note to the publisher: If Jetliner Cabins goes into a second printing, make the tough-to-read chapter headlines darker and sharper.
—Chris Barnett, Biz Travel Life
JETLINER CABINS by Jennifer Coutts Clay is “A terrific and unique book, beautifully illustrated and written with great knowledge and understanding of airline branding and aircraft interior design. An essential resource for travel professionals and a great gift for a global traveler. ”
—Aram Gesar, AirGuide
A highly disciplined interior design genre, designing aircraft cabins involves a level of detail that is both creatively demanding and liberating. The tiniest detail can impact the overall design in a host of ways. Successful designs are also integral to staying competitive. This text describes the high art and technical bravura behind creating some of the smallest living spaces in the world. With its collection of colour and black-and-white photographs of aircraft interiors from leading carriers, this comprehensive reference fully details the immense variety, as well as the creative breadth, behind them.
—Architext
Jetliner Cabins will interest innumerable readers – from manufacturers, airlines and suppliers to travel agents, marketers and salespeople; from airport managers to caterers, designers, engineers and architects; and not least the millions of passengers who travel each year in these special and typically modern surroundings.
—C.H.I.P.S. [ Click to read full article » ]
A visual and fascinating focus on the interior designs of aircraft cabins and how the many challenges faced in the layout of such a tight space can be met with flair and brilliance.
—Airways Collection
A very detailed look at the interiors of jetliners, including seats, overhead bins, carpet, color and other customer comforts. After reading this book you will have a deeper appreciation of what it takes to compete in this industry. 8 1/2″ x 11 1/2″. 192 pgs. 350+ color and B&W photos. Hdbd.
—Airliners
Come inside the airliner with this fascinating tour of interior designs and challenges. The art of aircraft interior design, a subject often overlooked but not in this unique book. 192 pgs. 350+ color and B&W photos. Hdbd.
—Airliners Online.com
As this volume begins with the industry’s increasingly spacious first class cabins, most readers will become instantly jealous of what thousands of dollars for a ticket will buy in terms of airborne comfort these days ‘in front of the curtain’. The bedrooms-in-the-sky surely look like another world to those of us in the back of the bus … All this material is wonderfully illustrated with photos and computer graphics, making it almost appear to be a graphic or industrial designer’s notebook.
—Airways [ Click to read full article » ]
Clay presents an eclectic and imaginative journey through a world that only a few of us get to experience. ‘Jetliner Cabins’ for all its pretence as a study of the design and history of airline cabins, is a trip to a better class of flying – an indulgence and a tease that makes you want to trawl the internet in search of the cheapest first class flight anywhere just to experience something other than cramp. This book is brilliantly illustrated and is a very enjoyable look through the curtain that separates economy from luxury.
—M2 Best Books [ Click to read full article » ]
For those individuals who live and work in the jetliner cabin environment, this book is a must-read. It is also recommended for those considering a career in airline operations.
—Aircraft Interiors [ Click to read full article » ]
Jetliner Cabins is a treasure not only for its sheer beauty of design, its comprehensive superb photos and layout but also for an erudite text.
—Clipper [ Click to read full article » ]
Il volume, riccamente illustrato, delinea la storia delle cabine nei voli di linea dagli anni ’70 ai giorni nostri. Tra gli argomenti trattati il branding del prodotto, le esperienze dei passeggeri, la manutenzione e il marketing; non mancano i commenti di piu di 40 specialisti internazionali nel settore. Nel centenario del primo volo dei fratelli Wright, un libro che interessera i costruttori, le compagnie aeree, le agenzie di viaggio, gli esperti di marketing e vendita e tutti coloro che lavorano negli aeroporti.
The book is richly illustrated and tells about the development of the commercial-aircraft cabin environment from the late ’70s until nowadays. Main topics include product branding, the passenger experience, cabin maintenance and the marketing challenge, and include comments from more than 40 international specialists in the field. Coming out in the centenary of Wright Brothers’ first flight, this book will interest manufacturers, airlines and travel agents, marketers and salespeople, as well as airport managers and workers.
—Prisma
Though lavishly illustrated and in large format, Jetliner Cabins is a very useful and complete reference work, not a coffee-table book. It will also be of equal help to the professionals, giving them a historical and topical sweep, as to the interested frequent traveller. At the end of the day, the airline industry is about passengers. It took some time for the privatised state airlines to realise that. A conversation comes to mind with the lady in charge of the British Airways stand at a major London travel exhibition in the 1980′s. “Why don’t you provide free limos to the airport like Virgin Atlantic does ?”. Answer : “Because it is very expensive, and we have a duty to our shareholders to keep costs down”. Well, the shareholders will do well at the end only if the passengers are comfortable and happy. Airline cabins are an important feature of customer satisfaction, together with the quality of the service.
—News Review [ Click to read full article » ]
This is a book to be enjoyed by interior designers, architects and the general flying public who are interested in jetliners.
—My Decorator Store [ Click to read full article » ]
With the holiday season just around the corner, Aircraft Interiors International is getting into the swing of things by offering five lucky readers a free copy of Jetliner Cabins, written by Jennifer Coutts Clay and published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The book is fully illustrated in colour, and includes expert comments from over 40 aviation specialists. A wide variety of interiors are covered, providing an interesting overview of recent cabin design history.
—Aircraft Interiors International
Now available is a new and exciting book called JETLINER CABINS by Jennifer Coutts Clay, a Wings Club member. Published in October 2003, the book is the first comprehensive survey of the commercial aircraft cabin environment from the late seventies to the turn of the century. Expanding on the author’s articles that appeared in Aircraft Interiors magazine from 2000 – 2002, the book features more than 350 illustrations and photos of aircraft interiors and information on product branding, the passenger experience, cabin maintenance and the marketing challenge.
—Wings Club News