Muirhead has unveiled its newest people-first design concept, which seeks to improve accessibility for blind and visually impaired travellers. The latest evolution of Muirhead’s ‘Sensation’ collection highlights the importance of texture, colour contrast, and tactile signposting in helping passengers navigate their surroundings with greater confidence.
Building on the success of last year’s neurodiverse-friendly aircraft seat covers, the Scottish supplier’s 2025 collection seeks to inspire CMF designers as they envision the future of people-focused aircraft cabins.
Jamie O’Donnell, Lead Designer at Muirhead, said: “Blind and visually impaired passengers deserve cabin interiors that empower them to travel with confidence and dignity. Thoughtful seat cover design plays a crucial role in making that possible. By integrating tactile signposting, Braille, and high-contrast colours into their design choices, airlines can create a more intuitive and comfortable experience – one that enhances accessibility without compromising on style or quality.”
Developed through extensive research, the new collection introduces a range of tactile and high-contrast elements, empowering blind and visually impaired passengers to navigate the cabin independently. The functional colour palette incorporates warm earth tones to evoke a calming atmosphere. Thanks to Muirhead’s advanced embossing and digital print capabilities, the designs feature raised seat numbering and Braille-embossed safety instructions – transcribed for Muirhead by students from the Royal National College for the Blind.
To cater to the needs of passengers with low vision, the headrests have also been enhanced with digitally printed seat numbers. These elements are carefully integrated into the seat design to assist passengers while maintaining a sleek, sophisticated finish.
FL Technics opens in-house sewing shop for interiors
FL Technics is expanding services by opening its approved in-house sewing shop and offering a broader range of products to clients. The new sewing capability will include a wide selection of products, related to the aircraft cabin and convenience of the passengers, such as aircraft seat covers, curtains, blankets, bags, straps, and more for airlines, leasing companies, and other clients in Europe, the Middle East, South-East Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia.
“The expansion was a natural step towards the company’s development and business growth. FL Technics provides modifications for various commercial aircraft types under EASA Part-21J and now, having sewing services in-house, we will ensure more efficient design solutions for our customers,” commented Donaldas Barkauskas, Head of Aviation Design and Production Department at FL Technics.
Sewing service within the organisation will also ensure a smoother process between the Design Organization Approval (DOA) and the sewing shop. FL Technics will be able to provide a full scope of services including DOA, POA, and base maintenance, from the initial request to the final product installation.
The in-house shop is equipped with a tailored facility for sewing operations and brand-new modern sewing machines. The unit will keep materials in stock to ensure more efficient operations and production. All the fabric and other materials in stock, used for sewing operations, are approved and meet the aviation requirements.
“The ability to get all the aircraft-related modifications from a single provider will guarantee a more convenient and faster process, ensuring efficient operations and cost-effective solutions for our clients. For those, choosing raw materials from our stock, we will be able to deliver products even faster. For customers with specific requirements, we offer bespoke solutions and various materials from our approved suppliers,” said Dainius Koveckis, Head of Production.
FL Technics delivers fully certified solutions under EASA Part 21J and Part 21G, assuring compliance with the highest aviation standards. With over 12 years of experience under EASA approval, FL Technics offers design changes, production, livery applications on aircraft, metal parts, and composite production.
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