In July 2008, Etihad Airways made history by announcing the then largest ever commercial order of more than 200 aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow. The same year, the carrier’s fleet planning department introduced PACE’s aircraft configuration software Pacelab Cabin to support investigations of prospective seating arrangements for new deliveries and in-service aircraft.
In 2014, Etihad Airways opted to upgrade to Pacelab Cabin 7, a major functional update including state-of-the-art 3D visualization capabilities, and in the process added new users in the engineering department.
A tool for professionals
Etihad made Pacelab Cabin their tool of choice because other than multi-purpose CAD software, it provides tailor-made functionality for cabin professionals: Intelligent, rule-driven modeling and positioning lets them quickly set up LOPAs and generate accurate forecasts of seat capacity, PAX/trolley ratio and other key metrics, while the software automatically checks technical feasibility and compliance with FAR/JAR certification standards.
The LOPA view is fully configurable and can be easily adapted to Etihad’s engineering standards. The 3D engine provides real-time rendering during the configuration and generates images for reports and other documentation.
High-quality layouts, fewer revisions
Since its introduction, Pacelab Cabin has delivered significant productivity gains and ensured a consistently high layout quality. The cabin studies conducted with Pacelab Cabin support the decision-making process when:
- Optimizing cabin configurations for maximum revenue;
- Reconfiguring cabins to meet current market conditions and consistent with Etihad’s high product standards;
- Identifying suitable aircraft types from OEMs or lessors.
