Italian cabin solutions specialist ABC International has launched a new "Boom Headrest", which they claim will eliminate the need for passengers to bring their own portable travel pillows on board.
The Boom Headrest is equipped with a multifunctional mechanism called a "gooseneck". Passengers can adjust the head and neck options, by applying light pressure on the arms of the gooseneck, to bring it to the desired position.
Designer Aysegul Durak said: “While sitting the passengers require arm support, therefore the seats provide an armrest. Considering the head is just as essential, why do today’s headrests not provide effective support for the head including the nape and neck? The Boom Headrest is designed to meet this current unfulfilled demand of the passengers”.
“As a matter of fact, the standard seat headrests are usually far from providing a portable orthopaedic pillow comfort. Today’s headrests do not have the nape or neck support, as they only allow the head to lean on the back or wings (side supports).”
The designer of “Boom Headrest”, Ms. Aysegul Durak
The "gooseneck", the multifunctional mechanism within the headrest, provides the passengers with various neck and head support options during the flight, by applying a light pressure on the arms to bring the “Boom Headrest” into the desired position.
Video of Boom Headrest Demo
Fit to Any Seat
The “Boom Headrest” can be installed on any seat either on retrofit or linefit conditions, it also represents a low-cost solution for both Airline companies and seat OEMs to improve cabin experience and enhance the feeling with the passengers.
“We can change the dimensions, foam stiffness and also fabric/leather according to the demand. We can adjust those according to the seat dimensions and model.”
The designer of “Boom Headrest”, Ms. Aysegul Durak
I reached out to ABC International and asked their designer, Ms Aysegul Durak the following questions.
Q: How is the headrest mounted to the seat? Would a retrofit of this product require that the seat be re-certified?
Boom Headrest can be installed to any type of seat backrest. We do not expect that any recertification will be necessary, this is because the Boom headrest is lighter than any other headrest in the market.
Q: How does this headrest accommodate tall passengers? Is there a slide (up/down) mechanism not shown in the images that would make the headrest higher for tall passengers (or indeed lower for short passengers)?
Yes there is vertical slide mechanism in Boom Headrest, this allows passengers to adjust Boom Headrest height according to their neck position.
Q: Both Recaro and Safran have introduced somewhat similar headrests to the market in the last 18 months. What are the key differentiators of ABC's headrest? How does it differ?
The multifunctional bending mechanism inside the circular structure of Boom Headrest can be folded in a 3-dimensioned manner, with any angle from any point throughout the free length, it can embrace the neck and/or head of the passenger in a tight manner, without having corners leaving any gaps. By means of this tight embracing the Boom Headrest can carry the weight of the head and neck, that makes it go far beyond today’s headrests in the transportation industry.
The other headrests, including the two you have mentioned, have a standard inner width, not customizable to a passenger's neck size, so they can not embrace the neck and so can not properly provide nape or neck support, they can only allow the head to lean on the back or be supported from the side.
Video of Boom Headrest Demo
This is a sponsored product post by ABC International.