Aircraft

Airbus will unveil a mock-up of the cabin for its new A350 twinjet at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2006 exhibition in Hamburg next month.

Airbus has linked with BMW Group Designworks to design a new interior on the A350 (artists' impressions of which are pictured below). The cabin will feature a number of new features, as Airbus seeks to counter the new concepts introduced by Boeing in the cabin of the rival 787 twinjet. It is unclear the exact extent of the German automotive company's participation in the new interiors.

“There are new lighting features and shaping in the cabin,” says A350 chief engineer Dougie Hunter. “We can project onto the ceiling whatever is appropriate for the mood required – for example the night sky or clouds etc.” Hunter says that a concept around the door two area has a bar area and seating for economy.

“In the entrance area there is a dome that that gives us the feeling of spaciousness or openness in the cabin and configured for whatever mood you want to generate,” Hunter says.

Airbus has also improved the overhead bin design to increase their volume. “The number of bags that can be accommodated in the centre bin of the business area will be two standard roller bags per passenger,” says Hunter. “The economy bins can take one standard roller bag per passenger.”

Hunter says that further details of the new cabin will be provided when the mock-up is unveiled during the Hamburg exhibition, which runs 4-6 April.

All images © Airbus

The Airbus A350 cabin features various mood lighting settings to transform from daytime to nighttime (entrance hall pictured above). The cabin at night is pictured below.

The overhead bins for the A350 will fit two roller cases per passenger for those travelling in business class (lateral bins pictured above) and one per passenger for those in economy, Airbus says.