Pearson Lloyd Decoding Complexity

In today’s travel industry, delivering a seamless, personalised experience poses a rapidly changing set of complexities. As passengers demand environments for work, relaxation and connection during their journeys, brands face the challenge of accommodating diverse needs within a cohesive design.

Pearson Lloyd specialises in decoding these complexities, transforming intricate user requirements into intuitive, adaptable spaces that offer not just comfort and function but also memorable journeys. By blending our cross-sector macro insights, leading ergonomics and sustainability expertise, our designs enable clients to present their brand values through user-centred, future-facing experiences.

At Pearson Lloyd, our cross-sector expertise across the home, workplace, hospitality, and travel industries enables us to design a cohesive brand journey that begins before take-off and continues long after landing. We understand that the passenger experience extends beyond the aircraft cabin and can influence every space a traveller encounters. Our approach starts by designing high-level user journeys that shape everything – from lounge and gate environments to the aircraft cabin itself. This includes crafting the aircraft interiors with precision, covering not just seats and galleys but also lavatories, user interfaces, and the finer details of cabin controls, lighting, and materials.

This approach enables us to carry a brand’s identity from the sky into other touchpoints within the passenger journey. By considering elements of relaxation, productivity and convenience, we create environments that feel both familiar and unique to the brand, building continuity from lounge to gate to cabin. This ensures that every phase of the passenger journey aligns with both the brand’s values and the passenger’s expectations.

With this holistic design approach, we help brands connect deeply and consistently with their passengers, creating environments that reflect their ethos at every step. This cohesive journey not only strengthens brand loyalty but also enriches the overall travel experience, making it memorable, functional and aligned with modern demands.

We view sustainability as a transformative business opportunity and a pathway to innovation, where thoughtful design meets the evolving demands of our world. Through circular thinking, we create designs that reflect brand values, resonate with today’s passengers and make a meaningful difference in environmental impact. Each project considers the full lifecycle – from sourcing sustainable materials to ensuring components can be reused, repaired, or recycled – building longevity and adaptability into every element.

In travel, this approach balances lightweight materials for efficiency with the repairability and durability needed for lasting use. For example, our Allegris seating solutions are built from a single base mechanism and shared components, allowing quick and easy part replacement and repair to extend seat life and reduce environmental impact. Unusually, all surface panels can be replaced from the structural shell, further supporting long-term maintenance.  By choosing lightweight materials, eco-friendly fabrics and creating adaptable products, we elevate passenger experiences while minimising environmental impact.

Each design choice is guided by the opportunity to harmonise user experience, environmental responsibility and our clients’ commercial goals. By minimising waste and promoting recycling within manufacturing, we help brands not only meet sustainability targets but also differentiate themselves for environmentally conscious customers.

At Pearson Lloyd, we design with the understanding that future generations will view travel differently, shaped by shifting values around sustainability, personalisation, and technology. Once associated solely with corporate travel, business class now serves a wider range of users – from solo travellers to colleagues, friends, and families, for both business and leisure. Modern buying habits reflect this shift, with customers expecting a level of choice that caters to their individual needs and desires. Our work on Lufthansa’s Allegris Business Class cabin responded to these evolving expectations, showing how brands can adapt to meet the unique values and priorities of every passenger.

Younger travellers increasingly prioritise eco-conscious solutions, flexible environments, and digital integration that make each journey efficient, productive, and meaningful. Through our strategy work, we guide clients in adapting their spaces to these generational needs. Within Allegris, we developed a cabin strategy and the first multi-seat design – offering five distinct variations – that resonates with both current and future travellers, reflecting their expectations for comfort, choice, and environmental responsibility. This design provides an unprecedented level of accessibility and customisation, optimising space to accommodate features like extra-long beds, dedicated workspaces, enhanced privacy options, suite doors, couples seating, and bassinets for families. The tessellated layout of these all-aisle-access seats maximises both comfort and functionality.

Our research-led design approach enables brands to engage deeply with today’s passengers while positioning themselves for tomorrow. By anticipating future needs, we help clients create a unified, future-ready journey across travel classes that meets diverse and evolving expectations. This forward-thinking approach builds lasting connections, ensuring brands remain relevant in an ever-changing travel landscape.

At Pearson Lloyd, premium travel experiences are designed to prioritise both comfort and wellbeing, ensuring that each stage of a passenger’s journey feels restorative and enriching. In projects such as Senses for Swiss Airlines, we engaged multiple senses to create a seamless, memorable journey, using strategic CMF to distinguish the experience and reflect the unique identity of Switzerland’s national carrier within a multi-brand group. Through a reworking of the Allegris product platform, we explored the powerful role that colours, materials, and finishes play in shaping customer expectations and enhancing brand identity.

Each detail – from seating ergonomics to ambient lighting – was carefully selected to support relaxation, focus, or connection, responding to passengers’ needs throughout their journey. By using CMF to establish a refined atmosphere, we convey the airline’s values, offering a sensory immersion that resonates with passengers and elevates their experience.

The Swiss Senses project demonstrates how premium experiences can bring a brand’s identity to life while enhancing passenger wellbeing. Adaptable seating and thoughtfully chosen materials create a sense of personal space, allowing passengers to unwind or work comfortably in an environment tailored to their expectations of modern luxury.

Our holistic design approach fosters lasting connections between brands and passengers, transforming travel spaces into destinations in themselves. Each project reflects a brand’s ethos while elevating the overall experience and prioritising passenger wellbeing, making every journey a reflection of the values and vision of the brand behind it.

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