hella jongerius: world business class cabin interiors for KLM

dutch designer hella jongerius in the KLM-hangar, in front of a Boeing 747-400 image © KLM

dutch designer hella jongerius has teamed up with KLM royal dutch airlines to re-envision the world business class (WBC) cabin interior across their fleet, intending to create an entirely new look and feel for the aircrafts. besides revitalizing the WBC spaces, she will be involved in reshaping existing full-flat seats to address customer comfort and safety, a premise which harmonizes well with airline’s brand values. bringing jongerius on board for collaboration fits into the broader context of KLM’s other successful WBC initiatives with top dutch chefs and fashion designers, in which they aim to emphasize a sense of pride in the heritage of the netherlands.

hella jongerius with erik varwijk, managing director of KLM on the designer’s ‘Poldersofa’ in the KLM-hangar image © KLM

erik varwijk, managing director KLM: ‘by choosing to work with hella jongerius, KLM is opting to engage a top dutch designer to help make our business class passengers feel at home on board. as a designer, hella has broad experience which she can apply to the needs of KLM and its customers, in accordance with the specific requirements for cabin interiors in the airline industry. her previous projects demonstrate her ability to process such criteria into top-quality designs such as the ‘polder sofa’, which is both comfortable and beautiful. with her expertise and focus on quality, she is keenly aware of what makes a brand unique. an outstanding match!‘

‘it’s a brilliant opportunity for me to design the cabin interior and the new business class seat for KLM. the challenge is one of safeguarding individual comfort in amiable settings using innovations. in so doing, I can optimally combine traditional details, and my industrial textile and colour skills with high-tech functionality,’ says jongerius.

the revitalization product will begin in june of 2013. the boeing 747-400s will be the first converted – 22 aircrafts in total. stay tuned for more details of the cabin design and new seat!

KLM boeing 747-400 aircraft photo by capital photos for KLM