A330neo to debut “Airspace by Airbus”

by DOMINIC LALK IN LONDON  

April 1st 2016

Print Friendly

Airbus unveiled its “Airspace by Airbus”, “based on ambience, comfort, services and design” in the cabin before global aviation media in London last month. Read More »

Inspired by the A350’s Xtra Wide Body (XWB) passenger satisfaction surveys, the “Airspace” brand will debut on the re-engined A330neo in 2017 and flow on to the A380 and the A320 Family.

Head of architecture and industrial design, Paul Edwards, told Orient Aviation that many “Airspace” design principles were mapped out on the A350, but that the A330neo’s entry into service in 2017 provided the perfect lead-in to support  “Airspace”.

Major features of the cabin vision include LED panels offering “60 million different colours” on aircraft walls and ceilings, a 50%, or three decibels, noise energy reduction compared with the B787 and storage bins with 66% more space and doors with better locking, illumination and handles.

Airbus executive vice-president of strategy and marketing, Dr. Kiran Rao, said changing the galleys’ size and shape would allow toilets to be moved to the back of A320 and add one inch in seat pitch and up to six extra seats per aircraft.

Airbus also is considering moving the galleys and lavatories on the A330, A350 and A380 below the passenger deck.

The manufacturer confirmed it would offer a 280-tonne maximum take-off weight (MTOW) variant from 2020, which will increase the -900’s range by 500 nautical miles in a standard three-class configuration. Dr. Rao said Philippine Airlines’ (PAL’s) incoming A350-900s from 2018 would have their MTOW extended to 278 tonnes.