Airbus is developing a combined crew rest for the A380 as part of its efforts to increase seating capacity on the type.
The airframer’s programme chief, Didier Evrard, detailed the plan during a briefing in Toulouse.
Airbus has witnessed a “lot of diversity†in the A380 cabin layout, he says. “When you look at this, you can see a clear trend towards getting a more efficient cabin.â€
By combining the forward flight-deck crew rest area, located behind the cockpit, with the aft underfloor cabin-crew rest station, the airframer believes it can free sufficient space to install six premium-economy passenger seats.
Evrard showed a timeline during the briefing indicating that the combined rest area would emerge around 2017.
Use of premium-economy seating and development of 11-abreast layouts are among the strategies Airbus is employing to strengthen the A380’s cabin economics. The airframer is pitching the jet with a typical 544-seat arrangement, claiming that a 291-seat Boeing 777-9X – a layout providing similar seating comfort – would have a 23% higher per-seat cash operating cost.
“We are focusing on having an A380 which is more attractive, which is – from an economics point-of-view – more efficient, with an optimised cabin,†says Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier. “This is today’s priority.â€
He remains upbeat about the A380’s prospects, despite acknowledging that the type “is in not such a very positive mood†because the market is “probably a little more limited than what we expectedâ€, particularly given that certain customers are experiencing “some difficulties†in their broader operations.
