Want to know one thing I’ve missed during the pandemic?

The first few steps I take onto a Boeing airplane; and it's not just because I successfully navigated through traffic, security lines and gate changes to get onboard. It is much more personal.

When I look down the aisle, I see a beautiful cabin interior, designed intentionally to enhance my flight experience and, of course, those of my fellow passengers. It’s a reflection of the commitment we’ve made to our customers to give them an interior that reflects who they are and how much they care about their passenger’s travel experience.

We’ve nearly lost this experience as COVID limits travel and many in our industry fought to stay afloat. As people stayed home, airlines focused their time and attention on airplane storage and basic maintenance.

However, people are booking flights for the first time in more than a year, eager to reconnect with family, friends, and the world around us. We are looking to the future with optimism, and so are the airlines, navigating this latest surge of COVID cases as we move through recovery in our industry.

One trend I see emerging from our customers; airlines and aircraft lessors alike, is an uptick in interior modifications to excite passengers returning to the skies, improve efficiency, and harmonize fleets.

For example, we are working with a major airline to upgrade a large number of their 737-800 fleet with new LED lighting and our larger Boeing Space Bins; ensuring every passenger has a place for their carry-on luggage. Also, earlier this year, another customer exercised options for additional interior reconfigurations, including Space Bins, for their 737-800 fleet.

We also recently signed agreements with several customers to support interior upgrades for the 787 Dreamliner's in their fleets – and we anticipate an increase in demand for 787 modifications as airlines plan to refresh and enhance their interiors to support fleet commonality, as newer airplanes are added to their fleets.

By working with Boeing on their aftermarket modification needs, customers can benefit from our deep customer knowledge and engineering expertise to design and create the passenger experience that works for them. No one knows a Boeing airplane better than our teammates and no one is better positioned to help our customers.

We understand airplane operations and airline economics and see all types of configurations and modifications. By listening to our customers’ needs, we help develop solutions to allow them to perform in specific markets and the business models they require; all with the ultimate goal of helping our customers succeed in what they do.

Our unmatched global presence, industry innovation, and technical expertise give customers the ability to take their visions and turn them into reality.