I’ve been watching Airspace by Airbus on and off the past few years as the product is developed for wide-bodied planes (the Airbus A330neo and A350) – so really, it should come as no shock that Airbus is preparing to bring its Airspace product to its Narrow Body family.
Or as the rest of us know it – the Airbus A320 family.
Airspace by Airbus – new overhead bins, roof motif and sidewalls – Image, Airbus
Front Entrance of an A320 with Airspace by Airbus – Image, Airbus
Facing the cabin – Airspace by Airbus – Image, Airbus.
For those who haven’t seen Airspace before, have a look here to see how it’s being implemented on the A330neo.
A330neo Airspace by Airbus cabin – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The A320 version of the cabin takes cues from the wide-body cabin, but also introduces some new features that as passengers – you might appreciate.
- The Airspace Bin – Yes, the overhead bin is being looked at again, with it planned to hold eight bags instead of five bags in a four-frame bin, and also will accommodate bigger and heavier bags. These are the more traditional flip-up bins as opposed to pivot bins
- The lighted ceiling – as you can see from the press images, the roof lighting can be customised to an airlines requirement.
- New Side-wall Panels – New sidewall panels should increase the width in the cabin – providing an extra inch of space at shoulder level to give a greater personal space.
- A New Window Bezel to provide more window space out of the window.
- New Lavatory design – We’ve seen the space-saver toilets being installed in the flex configurations – these are a new design that allow for new options including mood lighting, anti-bacterial coatings, aroma dispenser and touch-less options.
So, this is a major redesign of the cabin, with the aim of cramming more bags aboard, as well as improving the passenger experience in the cabin.
There’s going to be a fair bit of tweaking of the product between now and when the product rolls out in 2020 – where this cabin will be available for line-fit or retrofit as required.
Ingo Wuggetzer, Vice President, Cabin Marketing, Airbus notes the overhead bins being a key point, stating:
“The A320 offers airlines 40 percent more volume for their passengers’ bags, accommodating larger carry-on bag dimensions than competing single-aisle airliners,
More overhead space means quicker boarding times, a value-add for passenger, and a better overall experience.”
Providing Airspace by Airbus is applied in a constant manner that allows a distinctness of an airline, yet the branding to show through, Airspace will be a branding success.
But branding is half of it – ensuring the passenger experience is constant will be the real challenge across the products and the planes.
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