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SOON WHEN YOU fly in an Airbus jet and you fancy a bit of shut-eye, all you will need do is make your way down to the cargo hold.
European aircraft giant Airbus announced yesterday that it is teaming up with Zodiac Aerospace to develop and market lower deck sleeping facilities for passengers that could be operational in A330 wide-body jets from 2020.
The sleeper compartments “would fit inside the aircraft’s cargo compartments,” Airbus said in a joint statement with Zodiac, a subsidiary of the French aerospace company Safran.
The modules “will be easily interchangeable with regular cargo containers,”the statement said.
“Airlines will initially be able to choose from a catalogue of certified solutions by 2020 on A330,” for the sleeper pods, with the possibility of fitting them into A350 XWB airliners also being studied.
Airbus and Zodiac said the sleeping berths would not only improve passenger comfort, but also enable airlines to add value for their commercial operations.
“This approach to commercial air travel is a step change towards passenger comfort,” said Geoff Pinner, head of Airbus’ cabin and cargo programme.
We have already received very positive feedback from several airlines on our first mock-ups.
Christophe Bernardini, head of Zodiac’s aerospace cabin division, said the project “reaffirms our expertise in lower-deck solutions. An improved passenger experience is today a key element of differentiation for airlines.”
In November 2016, the Air France-KLM had put forward the idea of sleeping berths for passengers in the economy class, either down in the hold or above the cabin in aircraft of the group’s new low-cost subsidiary, Joon.
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I’ve always wondered why this wasn’t done before!
All airlines make a big part of there revenue carrying cargo in the holds, so unless they are going to stop passengers bringing luggage all together then I can’t see this happening.
@Gavin R: Yes, you probably know more about the economics of commercial air travel than the collected wisdom of Airbus and the airlines that they sell too.
@JΛCQUʘRΛПDΛ: Hes right you know! This is a field I have expertise in and I can assure you airlines will not be keen to pass over valuable onboard real estate to a handful of bunks!
Won’t happen, can make more from cargo
Aer Lingus used a variation of this years ago for a crew rest area. Nothing new. It takes up a lot of space and reduces cargo and luggage space so they would have to charge a pretty penny to use them. Might be nice in a super long haul flight though.
Would be a handy place to go for a ****
@Finbarr Dowling: A s**t?
@VeeryDrink: no, a s***
@VeeryDrink: wrong one.
@Finbarr Dowling: H! can I get a H please?.. this is hangman right?
Sweet flying Spaghetti monster yes.
Boeing wont take this lying down!
This sounds like a dream come true. Anyone who has taken more than a 5 hour flight knows, all you want to do is stretch out and get horizontal and make the flight go as fast as possible! #ihateflying
April 1st story??
I hate flying but have always thought that a bed would be preferable to a seat anytime. Could not more passengers fit on a plane if placed horizontally in tiers? There is nothing one can do on a journey except relax as pilots & crew are in charge of your safe arrival. Why not get some shut eye? Probably not enough space or privacy for intimate stuff but could be nice to cuddle up with your other half…if you are lucky enough to be on holidays.
have your say