Collins Aerospace new M-flex Duet monument adds new service possibilities without sacrificing seat count

Collins Aerospace is launching the M-Flex Duet, a revolutionary cabin monument, at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. This 2019 Crystal Cabin Award finalist transforms a seldom optimized area of the cabin - an aircraft doorway - into a self-serve social zone or cabin attendant working area. Collins Aerospace is a unit of United Technologies Corp..

M-Flex Duet, a 2019 Crystal Cabin Award finalist, is an industry first in a flexible premium service area, offering passengers the ability to move about the cabin to grab a beverage or snack.

"Traditionally, the space needed to add this type of service area meant sacrificing seating for the airlines which could mean an annual revenue loss in the millions per twin-aisle aircraft," said Jefferey McKee, director of Research & Development, Interiors for Collins Aerospace. "Our team has created a brand new concept that benefits both the passenger and the airline by offering new amenities in the cabin with minimal to no seat reductions."

M-Flex Duet utilizes the aircraft doorway to offer a premium passenger service and extended galley space. During taxi, take-off and landing the compact monuments are stowed and meet all regulatory egress requirements. During flight, the units unfold to stretch across the doorway providing a stand-up, branded and self-serve social area for a passenger to enjoy food and drinks, and it also provides additional crew working space.

Because the M-Flex Duet monuments fit within standard monument footprints they can easily be installed as a line-fit and retrofit solution. M-Flex Duet will launch later this year.