Nike Turns Boeing 787 Into ‘Athlete’s Plane’ For Rest And Recuperation
Image via Teague
While commercial airlines already pander to the relaxation of passengers, Nike intends to refine the flying experience for pro athletes. The sportswear giant has teamed up with multidisciplinary design consultancy Teague to set up an ‘Athlete’s Plane’ where athletes can fully recalibrate to mitigate the “away disadvantage.”
The Athlete’s Plane will reside inside a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and is optimized for rest so athletes—specifically basketball players—can be at their mental and physical best in time for the next game, no matter the timezone of the destination.
Teague consulted professional players, coaches, team physicians, operations staff, and sleep specialists to develop an athlete-centric airliner interior. The firm found that sports teams’ wellbeing take an immense hit from prolonged travel across timezones, crippling the ability to bring their A-game on the court. Most definitely, there was the need to turn the “away disadvantage” into an “elevated advantage.”
After several interviews, Teague designed a number of zones for recovery, circulation, sleep, and thinking.
Recovery quarters “equalize” the strains of air travel, and are equipped with in-flight biometrics and analysis, including smart urinals, to speed up body repair. To boost circulation, the aircraft’s sidewall is installed with ice and compression sleeves that passengers can use.
For optimized sleep quality, Teague adopted noise-reducing technologies and lie-flat seats/beds—noting the height of basketball players.
To help sports teams bring their utmost mental resillience to the next game, OLED screens and large touchscreen monitors are installed so they can review game footage during transit.
Athletes can also lounge at the airliner’s lower deck—where café tables and benches convertible as beds can be found—to socialize, get a coffee, or take a nap.
Despite having heeded insights from industry experts, the design firm will keep building upon this interior. “Teague continues to iterate on the design as technology evolves and we learn more about the unique needs of elite athletes through our ongoing conversations,” it shared.
Image via Teague
Image via Teague
Image via Teague
Image via Teague
Image via Teague
[via Yanko Design, video and images via Teague]
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