https://www.bloomberg.com/news...ps-in-the-cargo-hold

Airbus to Offer Naps in the Cargo Hold

Planemaker working with seat manufacturer Zodiac on concept
It won’t be a room with a view, but may help prevent neck strain. Passengers flying on Airbus SE planes will soon be able to slip down into the cargo hold for a proper nap.

The European jetmaker is working with seat manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace on the design and construction of lie-flat beds to fit in lower-deck cargo areas. The berths will initially be offered on Airbus A330 widebody aircraft from 2020, the companies said Tuesday at a conference in Hamburg.



The idea for specially-designated sleeping areas on planes was also raised last month by Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce, who said the airline is studying options for making ultra-long haul flights more bearable for passengers. Qantas is exploring direct links from Australia to the U.S. and Europe that would require travelers spend as many as 17 consecutive hours in flight. Joyce said the airline could introduce a new four-class structure, with part of the cargo hold utilized for beds.

Under Airbus’s plan, the sleeping berths would be installed as modules that could be quickly replaced with regular cargo fittings during an aircraft’s typical airport turnaround. Holds have in the past been designed as cabin crew rest areas and for religious facilities.

Airlines will be able to retrofit old planes with the modules or build them into aircraft coming off the production line, according to the manufacturer. Airbus is also studying the possibility of offering similar sleeper compartments on its A350 airliner.

Well that will make joining the mile high club a lot more comfortable....

That would make long flights bearable. Where do I sign up?

As someone who can't sleep sitting up (wide awake on flights to/from Europe), I'd love this. Of course, they're going to cost a ton of money to book.

As someone that goes to Taiwan every year, I would love this! The 12-14 hour flight is brutal even with status.

Stock in the Pullman Company skyrockets!

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
As someone who can't sleep sitting up (wide awake on flights to/from Europe), I'd love this. Of course, they're going to cost a ton of money to book.

I'll book myself as baggage. Either way I'm all for that.

On many long-haul Boeings, crews already have sleeping quarters below deck.

Are they going to increase the price of checked baggage due to the reduction in available cargo space? I like the concept, but there's a trade off there. It's not like there's a ton of empty space under the plane right now.

I like it!

quote:

Originally posted by PD:
On many long-haul Boeings, crews already have sleeping quarters below deck.

Crews are required to have adequate rest areas for extended flight operations, bearing in mind that our long days are typically 30 hours duty.

Of course, my present operator just removed all the bunks and replaced them with business seats. They just barely qualify per the FAA.

There's no reason that lower cargo spaces can't be used as occupied structure; it's the same pressurization and in many cases, they feature a wider available temperature range. The problem for the airline is that cargo space is usually at a premium, which is to say that people tend to haul a lot of crap...especially on long flights. Additionally, most airlines also have mail contracts and other contracts to fill any additional space with mail. The first point to point revenue flights in the world hauled mail, and it's still more profitable than the people. To offset that loss if berths or bunks are provided, the tickets will have to be sold at a high enough price point to make up for lost revenue and cargo space.

From a practical point, I wouldn't want to be down there in an emergency, or to have to initiate an egress from there, or be there in severe turbulence or other circumstance. If I'm not up going to the lav, then I'm strapped in with shoes on. I do a lot of long-haul flying, and even when bunks have been available, I've never used them.

Can you double bunk with the girlfriend or significant other?

Stack 'em and rack 'em.

Business Class and First Class already provide the ability to lie down in most flights, and they are very expensive seats. I don't see how this new facility would be less expensive than those elite features.

On my last trip to Australia I almost booked a Business Class seat for the 16-hour flight--at the time I was considering it the round trip would have been just over $7000; however, the next day, when I had decided I could afford it, the price had bloomed to over $10,000 and that was more than the 3-week tour was costing, so I just suffered with coach (I did spring for "Comfort Coach", though, which had a little more space).

flashguy

You can stack 2 or 3 people up in a laying position on a bunk in the same space it takes for one person to lay down in a business class seat.

Tubes, man, tubes. Every passenger is loaded into their own tube, then the tubes are racked and stacked and off we go.

The DC-10 (or maybe it was L-1011) had a galley on the lower deck in what I assume was the cargo area. About 20 years ago I was flying with our daughter (age 8 at the time) and the very nice cabin crew let us go down there (I think we took an alevator) to check out the "kitchen."

Stupid idea.
How is this better than a 787 Buisness Class which is very private and lays flat?

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:
Stupid idea.
How is this better than a 787 Buisness Class which is very private and lays flat?

Because you can bunk people above you. You can't bunk people above a chair that sits up. You can fit 2x or 3x more people laying flat in racked bunks than in chairs that recline.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Well that will make joining the mile high club a lot more comfortable....

The whole deck will smell like Thai food...