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 to design a new interior for the A350, which will feature a number of new features as the manufacturer seeks to counter the new concepts introduced by Boeing in the cabin of the rival 787 twinjet.

“There are new lighting features and shaping in the cabin,” says A350 chief engineer Dougie Hunter. “We can project on to the ceiling whatever is appropriate for the mood required – for example the night sky or clouds etc.”

Hunter says that a design concept for the area around door two has a bar area and seating for economy passengers.

“In the entrance area there is a dome 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.”