- The modules, located in the cargo area under the plane's main cabin, will feature bunk-bed-style sleeping berths.
- Airbus and Zodiac also showed off plans for other modules including a children's play area, a bar, an infirmary, and a conference room.
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Airbus wants to add bunk beds, playground slides, and hospital rooms to its new planes
Airbus is working on bunk beds for its A330 and A350 airliners.
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Airbus is working on sleep modules complete with bunk beds for its A330 and A350 airliners. The sleep module, announced Tuesday, will be developed in conjunction with the seat manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace.
In addition to a sleep module, Airbus and Zodiac revealed plans for a children's play module complete with a playground slide, a hospital infirmary module, a bar/lounge module, and a conference-room module.
Airbus expects the modules to be available by 2020 on its A330 family of wide-body jets. The company is also studying the possibility of installing the modules on its new A350XWB airliners.
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"This approach to commercial air travel is a step change towards passenger comfort," Airbus' cabin and cargo program head, Geoff Pinner, said in a statement. "We have already received very positive feedback from several airlines on our first mock-ups. We are pleased to partner with Zodiac Aerospace on this project which will introduce a new passenger experience and add value for airlines."
Airbus will make the modules available for both new aircraft and for retrofit on existing airframes.
The various modules will be located in the cargo compartment under the main cabin of the A330. Since the modules are interchangeable with regular cargo containers, the aircraft's existing cargo floor and cargo-loading systems will not require modification.
Both Airbus and Zodiac have experience with sleeping quarters located under the main cabin of airliners. In fact, the crew rest areas of the Airbus A330 and A340 can be located under the main passenger cabin.
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