Members (and Visitors):

Floor Covering Media found an article, published in Aviation Week, a Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, about Flying Carpet.  This article, written by Kristin Majcher, informs readers about a problem; involving Southwest looking for a more environmental and economic alternative to traditional aircraft carpet.  The solution, proposed, was InterfaceFlor’s 100% recyclable modular Sky-Tiles.  InterfaceFlor has been a pioneer of modular carpet for years, but up until a few years ago it had no experience making textiles for the transportation industry.  A huge barrier to entry was the stringent regulations for flame, smoke and toxicity tests that the carpets would have to pass in order to be certified on aircrafts. That all changed in the spring of 2006, when Interface’s Kippen Westphal met with Boeing to start talks about what would soon be the company’s first aircraft product—and the creation of Westphal’s new responsibility, as manager of transportation business.  Southwest Airlines is the first airline to test Sky-Tiles on its Boeing 737s, and Interface hopes that additional operators will see how the more sustainable product can decrease labor and material costs; according to the article.  More at Aviation Week.

Sincerely,
FCM Staff

Link (Thread Hidden):

www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp

Link (Thread Shown):

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=om&id=news/om/2012/01/01/OM_01_01_2012_p46-401608.xml&headline=Flying%20Carpet