The Aircraft Interiors Podcast

Gary Weissel has over 30 years of experience in the aviation sector, over which time he has become an expert in aircraft interiors, passenger interior products, programme management, sourcing, market forecasting, growth strategy, and contract negotiations. He now applies this knowledge in his role as managing officer of Tronos Aviation Consulting. Gary shares his views on a range of topics including the complexities or interiors engineering, how to calculate the return on investment on a new cabin interior, and the importance of great cabin service.

Interview conducted by Matthew Nicholls, vice president of marketing at Perrone.

Rory O’Brien is director of customer engagement and aircraft integration at Evio, where he oversees end-to-end cabin configuration, certification, aftermarket support, and OEM/supplier relations for the Evio 810 hybrid-electric regional aircraft.

In this episode Rory shares his thoughts on everything from flat beds and solar panels on supersonic aircraft, to developments in IFE & IFC, and cost-efficient ways to help enable sleep in economy class.

Rory knows his game, with over 20 years of experience in leading aircraft interior design, integration and modification programmes, including time with Boom Supersonic, Dassault Falcon Jet, Alaska Airlines, and that pax ex favourite – Virgin America.

Martin Darbyshire is founder and CEO of the Tangerine Strategic Design Consultancy. 

A highly respected figure in the design world, Martin talks BA, AI and humble beginnings. 

Anyone who appreciates an amazing colour, material & finish (CMF) scheme should hear the views of Alexandra 'Sandy' McGill, lead designer at BMW Designworks. She joined the studio straight after graduating at UCLA and hasn’t looked back since, creating exciting and creative schemes and concepts for sectors including automotive and aviation.

Sandy discusses everything from the studio’s 50th anniversary, to the trials of bespoke colour schemes, her time with big names like Chris Bangle and Marek Reichman, wellness and sustainability in CMF, and why beige is back. But will our host Matt Nicholls get his dream pink and gold interior scheme?

John Walton is an award-winning English aviation journalist. Growing up across three continents John claims - only half-joking - to have been raised by cabin crew. As a writer he specialises in cabin interiors, seating, connectivity and premium class service. 

Interview conducted by Matthew Nicholls, vice president of marketing at Perrone.

In this wide-ranging chat with Peter Tennent, CCO and director of Factorydesign, he discusses everything from his days at Central St Martin’s, to industry trends, seat design, and airline requirements. He also shares some stories from notable design projects including Etihad, Concorde and… Gordon Ramsay’s undercarriage.

Interview conducted by Matthew Nicholls, vice president of marketing at Perrone.

Blake Emery shares his unique pax ex insights and discusses how to trigger a sense of the magic of flying. 

Blake is well-known from his role as director of differentiation strategy at Boeing, where he applied deep research, as well as behavioural, organisational and consumer psychology, to drive stakeholders to prefer Boeing aircraft. He was a key member of the development programme for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (including giving the aircraft a name as well as a number), and is named on several patents for its exterior and interior designs. 

Blake is now president of Emery & Associates, where he helps clients choose and execute research, leading to deep customer insights.

Paul Wylde has enjoyed a wide-ranging and influential design career, developing brand, product and service innovations for big names such as Hawaiian Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, jetBlue, Imagination, Teague, Interbrand, Frogdesign, Hilton Worldwide, JSX and BMW Group.

Now enjoying his role as head of the paulwylde studio in California, Paul shares some key moments and influences over the years such as those BA tailfin designs, the magic of Concorde, Bauhaus design, ‘painting music’, Club World, and how an article in Aircraft Interiors International magazine changed his life.

He also discusses contemporary issues such as cabin class ‘dis-positioning’, the importance of creating a strong brand identity, and a few entertaining tales from the world of design consultancy.

Chris Dela Rosa, cabin product director at Alaska Airlines, discusses everything from advances in seat comfort to universal design language, to the challenges of fleet retrofits, galley gates, his fondness for David Neeleman – and what the industry is not talking about but should be.

Chris is a born and bred New Yorker who was previously an aircraft interiors specialist at JetBlue and now resides in the Pacific Northwest. A true cabin innovator, his self-declared mission is to bring the Alaska Airlines experience to life “one aircraft at a time”.

Chris Wood has devoted his life to advocating to make airline use more accessible, and is one-third of Air4all, a consortium delivering an aircraft seat that promises to provide a seamless, comfortable journey to users of power wheelchairs. His two children, both now adults, are full-time wheelchair users, and Chris' extensive lobbying has helped created more solutions for accessible travel, for which he was awarded an MBE for services to aviation.