From a lavatory for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) to a crew-rest module for long-range single-aisle aircraft, Diehl Aviation has long used its presence at AIX in Hamburg to showcase its inventive approach to cabin amenities, and this year is no different.
However, according to chief executive Jorg Schuler, the event is not just a chance to display “things you can get today, things we are working on for the near future, and advanced innovations”; it is about reinforcing the German company’s expertise as an integrator.
“This is one of our biggest advantages,” he says. “We are a complete cabin supplier – we do everything from the cockpit door to the rear bulkhead, except seats – and can bring tier-two products into tier-one solutions.”
This year’s exhibits include PRM Space3, a concept that combines two lavatories on an Airbus A330 to provide room for a wheelchair user, and a twin-bedded crew rest module for narrowbodies such as the A321XLR where longer flights mean cabin attendants and pilots may need rest time on board. The latter is on display for the first time in full size.
Diehl Aviation is also showing its “sustainable” overhead bin, the first in the industry build completely of thermoplastics, says Schuler. “We have invested a lot in lightweight materials, and it has become a key differentiator. We are a world champion in lightweight products.”
Airbus remains Diehl Aviation’s biggest customer, responsible for some three quarters of its sales. However, Diehl has since the pandemic redoubled its efforts to broaden its customer base, not just with Boeing and Embraer but into new segments such as business aviation and urban air mobility.
Last year, the company announced plans to open a manufacturing site in Mexico as part of a plan to bring production closer to customers in the Americas. It is set to be operational this year and its first products will be new, larger luggage bins for the A220, which is assembled in Mirabel, Quebec and Mobile, Alabama.
“We started our internationalization journey two years ago,” says Schuler. “Mexico is progressing well and this year we will expand to Romania.”
He says the company is “observing very closely” details of tariffs on products made outside the USA by President Donald Trump. “We are not impacted yet and we don’t know what will come. But our strategy is long term. We don’t know if tariffs will be short term or long term,” he says.
Schuler adds that the economics of assembling interiors products make it difficult to produce in the USA. “Safran and Collins have a presence but we do not have many cabin competitors there,” he says. “It is a matter of relative competitiveness.”
Of course, Trump’s import duty policies are designed to change that cost equation by making it – in theory – relatively cheaper for US and non-US companies to establish domestic manufacturing.
The supply chain generally remains another challenge for Diehl Aviation. “It has not fully recovered, and the situation is still fragile,” says Schuler. “Labour and energy costs are high. Free cash flow in the supply chain is constrained. We are helping a lot, supporting where we can.”
Despite this, he is convinced Diehl can support any ramp-up plans from its biggest customer. “We can deliver what Airbus needs, but not without a lot of effort,” he says. “We are building stocks, ordering in advance. We have hired people to manage the supply chain. It is certainly not lean.”
