The 15th Crystal Cabin awards have taken place in Hamburg after the first day of the AIX show.
A total of 27 international experts selected the eight most compelling solutions of the year from 85 submissions, entered by airlines, manufacturers, design studios, and startups from around the world.
Briefly, the winners are as follows:
Accessibility – Winner: Diehl Aviation: AURS, The Adaptive User Routing System
Cabin Concepts – Winner: All Nippon Airways, in cooperation with Acumen Design Associates, THE Room FX
Passenger Comfort – Winner: Collins Aerospace, SkyNook
Cabin Technologies – Winner: AviusULD, in cooperation with Eloc8, AviusULD SmartULD – Fire Tag
IFEC & Digital Services – Winner: Delta Air Lines, Delta’s Connected Onboard Platform
Sustainable Cabin – Winner: RECARO Aircraft Seating, The R Sphere – Sustainability Concept Seat
Breakthrough Start-ups – Winner: Quvia, In-Flight Digital Experience Platform
University – Winner: Georgia Institute of Technology, in cooperation with Airbus, Delta Air Lines, and TU Delft, SMARTrack | Optimized Cabin Cleaning Dispatching System.
“The Crystal Cabin Award 2026 demonstrates that the people building today’s aircraft cabins are taking responsibility for passengers who want to travel on equal terms regardless of mobility and deserve not to depend on assistance onboard; for a planet that demands solutions; and for a future that requires bold ideas. The fact that we are recognizing startups with a dedicated category for the first time this year is no coincidence, but a signal for the future,” said Ralf Gust, President of the Crystal Cabin Awards Association.
