With the cost of flying soaring and very little in the way of change to the interior of planes over the past 25 years, the Aircraft Interiors Expo is the launch pad for cabin programmes showcasing tomorrow’s designs, in-flight entertainment, connectivity and passenger services.

The hot thing in this area of design is making things lightweight, as airline companies struggle with rising fuel prices and tries to get an airplane’s overall weight down. Thus even seatbelts are getting the ultra light treatment, as shaving a mere 65 grams off of each one adds up when multiplied across planes and fleets.

This concept is Boeing’s design for the interior of the 787 (pictured above). It uses dynamic LED lighting to replicate day-to-night light patterns and offers larger seats, aisles, windows and overhead bins than current planes.

Developed for Air New Zealand, the SpaceSeat is a fixed shell seat, meaning the seat reclines within its own shell without annoying the passenger behind.

Airborne Hotel, a bi-level seating concept for aircraft cabins. With this radical seat configuration, airlines can potentially increase capacity and offer every passenger a reclining seat-bed.

Designed for the bathroom of Lufthansa’s A380 planes, this concept bathroom provide the first ever on-board gentleman’s urinal, giant mirrors and unprecedented levels of space and comfort.

IMS Company’s Rave, is an entertainment system made up of a system control unit (SCU) and a seat display unit (SDU). With Rave, content and functionality is stored in each seat on SD cards, leaving the SCU to simply load up content and interface updates in the background at scheduled times.

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Dubbed the Vostok Cabin, the armored shell was built by Dutch Atelier Van Lieshout for an exhibition in Paris and explores a tough way to provide shelter using recycled materials.

The cabin is made of steel plates reclaimed from boats, while the living unit is furnished with benches, a toilet and a wood stove.

“Value systems of yesterday are no longer relevant. A new civilization is ahead of us. This ideological society offers choice; are we able to find alternate ways of living, another model or are our days counted?

The changing climate, growing poverty, wars and more are only expanding. This movable nomadic dwelling unit provides shelter from this disconcerting situation.”