Airspace by Airbus at Aircraft Interiors Expo
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APEX Insight: After recently announcing its new “Airspace by Airbus” design philosophy in London, Airbus displayed a mock-up of an “Airspace” A330neo cabin at Aircraft Interiors Expo. The mock-up featured the core elements of the design concept, all bathed in the mauve glow of programmable LED lighting.
Airbus has come a long way in cabin design since it placed folding chairs inside a painted outline that represented its first A300 aircraft on the ramp in Toulouse, more than 40 years ago. “But already here, we had 18 inch as the standard comfort seating for economy,” says Ingo Wuggetzer, Airbus’ vice president, Cabin Marketing. “When you look at cabins today, they look a lot different.”
At the Aircraft Interiors Expo today, Airbus presented the cabin mock-up of the new re-engined wide-body A330neo, showcasing its new Airspace by Airbus interior design concept, which was launched two weeks ago in London. Wuggetzer says, “We started the brand because we wanted to underline comfort and innovation leadership, and provide a tool for airlines to promote our Airbus cabin advantages to their passengers.”
The A330neo cabin mock-up featured Airspace design options that include reconfigured overhead bins and lavatories with touchless fixtures and anti-bacterial surfaces. Examples of business-class, premium economy, and economy-class seating were installed in the mock-up, along with programmable LED lighting. “We want to ensure, when you first enter the aircraft, that we create love at first sight. A moment that you will never forget and can’t wait to repeat,” says Wuggetzer.
Features and technology introduced on Airbus’ A350 XWB will migrate to the rest of the company’s product line, including the A330neo, A380 and A320 series. And Airbus’ A350 XWB’s cabin interior recently won the 2016 “Best of the Best” Red Dot Award for Product Design.
Airbus also announced a contract to upgrade the business-class cabins of Malaysia Airlines’ A330 fleet, that Delta Air Lines recently took delivery of the first A321 equipped with new pivoting overhead bins, and the Space-Flex v2 rear cabin configuration.
Tomorrow, Airbus will announce the first operator of an A330neo equipped with an Airspace by Airbus interior.