Dassault Aviation have been shortlisted for Interior Design / VIP Completions Award in The International Yacht & Aviation Awards 2022. Read more about the Dassault Aviation below:

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Tell us a little about your company:

Dassault Aviation is a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 90 countries across six continents. Dassault designs and builds the family of Falcon business jets as well as the Rafale fighter jet. The company employs a workforce of over 12,000 and has production facilities in both France and the United States, and a worldwide service network. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,650 Falcons have been delivered. The tri-jet and twin-engine lines offer outstanding efficiency and comfort, with ranges from 3,500 nm to 7,500 nm. They include the flagship Falcon 10X, the pioneering Falcon 7X and 8X, the widebody Falcon 6X, and the versatile Falcon 900LX, 2000LXS and 2000S. Falcon Customer Service continues to hold the top spot in key business aviation surveys.

How would you describe your company’s design style?

Dassault Aviation is a French company with a very strong DNA. Technological, but also synonym of elegancy, optimisation. I would say it is French by design, innovative but timeless, as our Falcons are long lasting products for demanding customers. Our goal is to design a product that will be perceived as simple, evident but with a very strong attention to detail and a hint of sophistication!

Where does your design inspiration come from?

We are always in search of new ideas, questions, new ways of looking at our products, new ways to challenge ourselves. Of course, we follow closely the trends in the aeronautical world as well as in the transport industry, cars, boats, trains, but we also are keeping an eye on social trends. The world is changing very fast, and lately, with the COVID crisis, it seems that some of the changes have accelerated.

We are now mixing the personal and professional fields: we work from home, in trains, soon in cars with the appearance of autonomous vehicles. Company headquarters are looking more and more like hotel lobbies, with collaborative workspaces and eating areas like restaurants. Those changes are impacting interior architecture design, product design, and of course, transportation design. So, our inspirations are in all areas, office design, hotels, architecture, product design…we are always keeping our eyes wide open!

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?

It seems that design is more and more a taking into account the creation of experiences, not only the definition of nice products or nice shapes. It is probably caused by the fact that technology can now be everywhere. Any surface can become tactile, provide information or change temperature depending on the need. But design is also more responsible, more durable. Designers have learned to take into account the global experience: not only the usage of the product, but also its aging and maintenance. Therefore, the real challenges now are to define the need — the exact usage or experience that needs to be provided — and to design the best product linked to that need making sure everything stays simple, while beautiful and durable.

What was your favourite project to work on and why?

Our favourite project to work on has been without any doubt the 10X. As it was a clean sheet design, we were part of the project from the beginning, and we were able to work on the basic aircraft with the engineering teams to design the aircraft around the cabin and around the experience that we had envisioned for the passengers. To build this vision, we met first with potential users and took in all of their feedback. Then, using our customer experience “plateau”, we started re-questioning all aspect of the cabin challenging our approach, in order to verify alignment with the next generation of travellers. It helped us re-imagine our design in a brand, new way. That’s why the result is such a game changer, a real step forward in terms of aircraft cabin design.

What was your most challenging project to work on and why?

Actually, our most favourite project was also our most challenging one. Designing a cabin from scratch with the engineering and industrial teams brought up a whole new level of questions. We were involved in trade-offs that impacted the basic aircraft, questions as to the detail of the beam positions on the floor, the window dimensions and rhythm in the cabin, all of which were linked to the interior definition and therefore to the customer experience. It was a huge challenge to work with that level of definition while at the same time trying to define all the cabinets, furniture and environment of the cabin in every detail. A lot of iteration was necessary to achieve consistency. It took extraordinary teamwork, and we are very proud of the result.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?

In our process, we use many different tools, like our digital drawing tablets, for lots of sketches. Then our own Dassault 3D Experience tool for immersive reality to test our design. But then again, we like to mix new technology with quick and dirty foam core mockups. For us, it’s become a winning formula!

How important are The International Yacht & Aviation Awards?

The International Yacht & Aviation Awards helps to push, and even challenge, the ideals of luxury in the aeronautical and yachting industry. By emphasizing the quality of the best products, it incentivizes all the different actors to improve their knowledge in a way that benefits the collective customer experience. It’s especially true in the aeronautical world where certifying new materials and new systems is always a bit challenging. Therefore, promoting design and innovation is a very helpful.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?

Our goal for the next year is to finalize the Falcon 10X detailed definition and follow the first production of the interior while closely monitoring the entry into service of the 6X to make sure our delivered product meets customer expectations. There are always refinements to make once the first interior is flying so that everything is absolutely perfect.

Photography: Adrien Daste

Dassault Aviation

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