A Day in the Life of Cabin Installation

We spoke with Sebastien Lantz of the Basel Installation Team who specializes in cabinet installation in our VVIP interiors.

Could you start by introducing yourself and describing your role?

I am Sebastien, I’m 43 years old and have been working at Jet Aviation since 2001. I work with the installation team, but I began here as a wood worker tasked with the production of the cabinets. When I first started, we were doing everything in the process from the beginning to the end production of the cabinets. After this initial role, I spent five or six years working in maintenance because they needed more help. I then came back into production as part of the installation team.

Can you explain the cabinetry installation process and how it works?

The process has changed a lot since I joined and now, I only install the cabinetry. In the beginning, we used to get the drawings and with the drawings we needed to make a list for each part we had to prepare. Then we had to take the raw material and cut and assemble everything ourselves. After this we would do a ‘pre-fit’ of the cabinets in the aircraft. They would be unfinished, but we would get to see what fits in well, or not, and take it back out to the woodshop, apply the veneer, and then to the paint shop for painting or varnish. After we got the cabinet back, we would assemble everything and install into the aircraft. This was the process about 20 years ago.

Now, we have one team for installation and the other stages are separate. The first step is the CNC machine that produces all the panels, and after that we have a team who assembles the cabinet. We don’t have a pre-fit team anymore; we assemble on a to-scale platform in the production center inside one room. We can also do that now with 3D models. There is then a separate team for painting and another team who will re-assemble everything. I am part of the last stage of the project and that is to install it all. 

Were you in the aviation industry before Jet Aviation? What motivated you to come to work at Jet Aviation?

No, I was originally a wood worker in France and a friend of mine encouraged me to join Jet Aviation and join him because it was a very nice place to work.

How did you learn how to do this installation process?

I learnt it here with the people who were working before me. This job is not something that you would have to go to a specific school to learn. If you are manual person and can work with your hands, normally you can learn a lot from other people here.

“You need to be precise and motivated. Here you are working in a great environment, and you can have access to some things that not many people will have access to.”

Is there one thing in particular that you enjoy about your job?

I like installing the cabinets in the plane because it's nice to see the finished product and see every tiny detail that happens on the cosmetic side to make the product perfect for the customer. I also enjoyed the maintenance side of things because it was different. It was a good experience, and you could see almost everything of the aircraft.

Do you come across many challenges in your work?

When I first started, yes, but now, 21 years later, everything is more routine – I know my job better. You will always find challenges with the schedule, which we always try to reduce. The cabinets are almost all identical for installation but sometimes you can have more difficulties if a customer is specific about details, so some cabins are easier than others especially when we work with ones that are more detailed or complicated to fit perfectly.

Do you find it tiring doing this every day?

I find it’s okay because every day is different. Before it was a bit more tiring because of all the different stages, but now we only have to go inside the plane once and that’s to fit the cabinets.

Do you have any advice to a younger generation who want to come into this profession?

You need to be precise and motivated. Here you are working in a great environment, and you can have access to some things that not many people will have the opportunity to experience. For example, after your projects here you can normally do a test flight. This is where you fly with the aircraft to check everything is fitted well – it's a final check.

Outside of work, do you have any passions or hobbies?

I do sports, mountain biking, badminton, and snowboarding.

Thank you, Seb, for taking the time to share your valuable and interesting role with us!