Could This Be the Future of Flying?

Airbus has given more insights into its upgraded Airspace cabin design for its A320 family of jets, giving a tantalising peek at the future of air travel. 

The new cabin design, which will first take to the skies with American carrier JetBlue in the coming months, offers a high level of passenger comfort consistent with Airbus’ widebody A330neo and A350 Airspace cabin products. In addition, the new cabin design offers a redesigned entrance area with customisable welcome lighting; new extra-large overhead bins – the largest in its class – restyled window bezels that allow more light into the cabin; and integrated window shades and new slide walls that delivering a sleek, customized look while yielding even more shoulder room.

The new cabin design also features new lavatories with anti-microbial coatings and touchless features, and a customizable ‘hero’ ceiling light plus full-colour LED lighting throughout the space.

The Airspace cabin originally announced at the Paris Air Show in June 2017 for the A320 family has come a long way from the initial concept drawings, 3D virtual reality and hardware mockups seen at the trade shows. The A320 Family’s new Airspace cabin took shape during last year’s “full-scale cabin installation test” – when Airbus’ teams performed a trial installation of a fully integrated cabin in an A321neo fuselage.

The new Airspace design is currently undergoing its second round of testing to ensure its robustness for use in commercial aviation.

Airus has given more insights into its upgraded Airspace cabin design for its A320 family of jets, giving a tantilising peek at the future of air travel. 

“The initial in-flight testing subjected the cabin to conditions well beyond what it would normally be subjected to in a standard flight profile,” says Michael Willmer, Airbus’ technical leader for the A320 Family Airspace Cabin programme. “Special cameras and sensors throughout the interior were connected to dedicated flight-test and recording equipment in the cabin so that the engineers could analyse the performance and characteristics of the cabin elements in real-time onboard, as well as in the lab afterwards.”

The second flight-testing stage, together with the lessons learnt from previous developments, will further help to ensure a robust product at entry into service in the coming months.

“With its unique cabin design and improved reliability, we are confident that Airspace will bring a residential touch to our cabin and help customers feel at home in the sky,” says Mariya Stoyanova, Director of Product Development at JetBlue. “We look forward to continuing working with our partners at Airbus as they continue to iterate the product and ensure its readiness to take flight in the near future.”

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Staff Writer

The Art of Business Travel is Asia-Pacific's leading portal for corporate travel news and views. We cover everything from airline routes and airport developments, to new hotels, meeting venues, loyalty schemes, and entertaining.