Toulouse (France), May 24:
People with plus size waistlines will be happy with Airbus' new
range of aircraft, expected to be in the market soon.
The new aircraft may come with bigger seats in the all
economy-class type of aircraft favoured by low- cost airlines. However, there
is a catch. While the aircraft maker is happy to build them, the airlines may
charge extra for such seats.
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has offered to equip its new A320
type aircraft with some extra wide seats, without reducing the total number of
seats in the Economy Class. The company claims that some North American airline
customers have shown interest in such seats. However, it is not clear whether
Indian carriers such as IndiGo, Go and Air India, who have placed order for
A320 and A320neo, have shown interest in such wider seats. This is one of the
innovations unveiled by Airbus on the occasion of its ‘Innovation Day'. The
company said the new features have been conceptualised with the “passenger at
heart, airline in mind.” Airbus's head of Aircraft Interiors Marketing, Ms
Zuzana Hrnkova, said, “There is recognition that people are getting larger.
That is why we need to provide an improved comfort in all classes.” Here the
effort is providing adequate seat width for those who need it most, while
improving the travel experience for those sitting close by, she added.
With this, the option is to provide extra wide seat by narrowing
the remaining seats on the same row. Typically, a seat on A320 comes with
18-inch width. If an airline wants an extra wide seat, the additional width in
one seat will be provided by trimming the width in the other two seats. So, the
aisle seat will be 20 inches wide, while the middle and window seats will be
only 17-inches wide.
Over 50 such extra wide seats can be provided on one A 320
aircraft. This can give additional revenue to the airline. “We believe such
extra wide seats can add over $3 million net product value (NPV) additional
revenue over 15 years,” Ms Hrnkova added.
OTHER INNOVATIONS
Airbus also proposes to provide, for the first time for a
single-class configuration aircraft, lavatory for persons with reduced
mobility. Such an arrangement is known as Space Flex can easily provide 3 extra
seats in the rear.
Another feature is widening the body around the passenger
seating area. Its new model, the A350X WB will become 5 inches wider at eye,
shoulder and armrest levels, giving more shoulder and elbow room.
No comments:
Post a Comment