Hello 3ringers and welcome to NeoCon World’s Trade Fair 2008! We’re a week away from the big show, and I trust everyone’s getting ready for their big trip to Chicago. The Designer Pages team will be on site covering the event, and is additionally hosting a lofty booth with espresso and cookies to meet and greet our users. Visit us at booth 7-2077.

Flyaway inPower. Designed by Douglas Ball. Manufactured by Arconas. Power provided by Epicentre Innovations.

Appropriately, for our first review, I’d like to take you back to your most recent experience with air travel. How was it for you? Long lines? Stifled environs? Dour-faced FAA personnel convinced that you were harboring something unspeakable and sinister in the recesses of your Tumi carry-on? Chances are, the best moment was post-security and pre-flight, when you had finally located your gate and nonchalantly collapsed into the surprisingly stylish and ergonomic steel-framed and black-leather lined seat.

Perhaps you haven’t heard of Ontario-based Arconas, but you’ve certainly found yourself in the cozy confines of their “Flyaway” line, whose clean lines and slim profiles grace the terminals of airports from Tampa to Timbuktu. Translated from the Greek, Arconas means “innovative leader,” which describes designer Douglas Ball’s Flyaway to a T: a veritable revolution in commercial seating, Flyaway was created to accommodate the demands of airport seating, both from the perspective of the traveler as well as airport personnel. A short list of the ways Flyaway helps facilitate smooth takeoffs and landings would include ergonomics (lumbar support, high backrest, rigid foam padding); space management (unit portability facilitates flexible configurations including long rows, corners, facing rows, and back to back); longevity/durability (seats and back are easily reupholstered; safety and convenience (high seats provide ample clearance underneath for luggage storage in addition to providing a clear line of sight of objects, which aids security).

As if all that weren’t enough (and did I mention they’re available in multiple colors to liven up airport decor?), now there’s “Flyaway inPower,” the same seating units equipped with seamlessly integrated AC Power and USB Ports, provided by Epicentre Innovations. The benefits here are manifold: the ability to charge laptops up to capacity just before boarding; safe and effective cord management (no more ambling tots tripping over your power source, no more maintenance people silently judging you as you type away on the floor struggling to keep your Skechers out of the way); managed and automated protection against surges and spikes (programmable grids allow users to be notified when usage is approaching maximum limits, thus avoiding tripped breakers); “daisy-chained” raceways that limit wire use and maximize space. Durable steel face plates, GFCI outlets, and LED indicator lights complete the ensemble. So the next time you find yourself blessed with 45 minutes of pre-boarding luxury, look around at the intelligent seating design, mouth a benediction in praise of Douglas Bell, and glance underneath your seat-you just might have time to go online and buy some stock in Arconas, one of the unsung heroes in commercial design.