Armani Casa for Etihad Airways Inflight Range

The challenge was to create a luxurious, restaurant-quality dining range that was timeless and cohesive. The range was also required to connect to the Abu Dhabi heritage of the airline, be multi-textured and evoke a positive emotional response. It was necessary to adhere to all airline cart and galley spaces and be flexible enough to be utilised across all global catering facility and aircraft types. Pieces not handled by guests needed to be lightweight and a minimum of 8% lighter than current range. The design brief also required finding efficiencies in design, packing and sustainability, whilst delivering a premium experience.

Buzz designed and created a comprehensive product offering across all categories which delivered a high quality product and met the desired overall weight reduction of 8-10%. This was facilitated through a collaborative development process with Armani Casa, Etihad and Buzz’s global supply partners over a three year period. A major roadblock in this project was the Covid pandemic and the lack of ability of our team to travel and meet during the key design and development period. To counter this, we held comprehensive design workshops via zoom to continue the development process across three continents when face-to-face collaboration wasn’t possible.

The Armani Casa for Etihad collaboration is an unparalleled brand partnership in travel, exhibiting a level of bespoke creation previously unseen in the industry. It is the first time Armani collaborated in inflight products, delivering an elevated level of design and luxury. Launched at an exclusive event in Abu Dhabi, it created significant global industry buzz. The launch was mentioned across media, including news, travel, lifestyle, and fashion publications, including in Vogue Arabia, WWD and Business Traveller. The campaign achieved over 300 media mentions and a reach of over 4 million on social media in the initial weeks after launch.

Each piece in the range is designed to accommodate onboard use of plating and provisioning food including weight, durability and hand-feel for passenger. The cutlery quality is 18/10 stainless, a premium quality material for inflight passengers. Weight was a key consideration for the cutlery as they are the main element the passenger interacts with, so emphasis was put on their quality. The glassware includes a signature double-walled latte and drinks glass, a signature brandy glass, as well as larger-sized stemmed wine and champagne glasses than usually found in Business Class, giving a more luxurious feel. The drinks stir sticks are created using premium gold plating and the design inspired by an aircraft propeller. Replacing previous plastic stirrers, the iconic stirrers deliver a more luxurious and sustainable experience for guests. The unique ‘pinchable’ Salt and Pepper solution is a signature item in the collection, and multiple iterations of the design were worked through to ensure no mixing of the contents, and that it is intuitive to open and use. The premium textiles range uses premium materials for a luxurious, curated turn-down service which promises to leave travellers well-rested, including a matching pillowcase and duvet set featuring Armani/Casa signature designs.