Restoring passenger confidence will be an important issue to solve in the near future, but can designing for trust truly restore faith in safety and wellbeing?
The industry has always looked to the latest consumer trends to inform its future cabin designs. As other industries now pay homage to this year's buzzwords of wellbeing, sustainability, and connectivity, the airline industry quickly follows suit.
However, there's one emerging trend unique to mobility over the past two years that also needs to be resolved – trust. It's no surprise passenger confidence has been eroded over the past two years, and airlines that are coming out on top post-pandemic are those who deliver on their marketing promises of looking after their most precious cargo – you.
At Teague, this unique period has provided the opportunity to focus on a design principle that has been at its core since it started working in transportation back in the 1930s. Ever since the very first Ford rolled off the production line, we've had to balance the excitement of new forms of mobility with a sense of familiarity that didn't alienate the consumer—in essence, building a subconscious conversation with them, putting them at ease, and building trust.
When designing for trust in commercial aviation, the four principles we rely on are communication, comfort, control, and personal choice. By mastering these four foundations, designers can apply a human-centric solution to any design challenge. No better example of building trust through these principles is the elegant, understated solution to the pandemic–Airshield.