Bunk beds in the cargo hold....
Apr 10, 2019, 10:50 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 508
Bunk beds in the cargo hold....
Interesting concept.... I’d certainly need some convincing though. 😳
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.t...n-flights/amp/
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.t...n-flights/amp/
Apr 10, 2019, 2:52 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: London, England.
Programs: BA
Posts: 8,476
Cargo holds carry revenue cargo, often at higher utilisation factors than the passenger cabin above. One of the key downsides of the A380, with two passenger decks and all their baggage in the hold, has been insufficient cargo space, the proportions are wrong. Airlines started using all their space, both ways, long ago (both ways because unlike passengers cargo invariably goes one way only, you need to find a different source of cargo for the return). Although you may see some freighters, and the big package express companies, the considerable majority of air freight goes by underfloor hold.
Apr 10, 2019, 8:25 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,916
If they could make the hold area similar to what they were showing in the first graphic (basically berths or capsule hotels) then that'd work. You'd just need someone to make sure that people are fastened down during takeoff and landings... The only big issue would be keeping them clean...
Apr 11, 2019, 11:06 am
#9
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DTW
Programs: Alaska, Delta, Southwest
Posts: 1,663
Yeah, I don’t see this happening either, not for technical reasons but economic ones - cargo tends to be more lucrative than Economy passengers. There’s no way business class accommodations would be made available at Economy class prices, especially if it displaces cargo.
Apr 12, 2019, 7:10 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 13,573
I would love the option to bunk down while flying economy. You could even do it so that the bunks are only accessible after take off, and before landing, and have a system in economy where, for example, you seat everyone, and when those who book a bunk go downstairs, the other economy passenger could convert the seats to a sky couch arrangement (not every row, but some of them).
Apr 12, 2019, 10:14 am
#13
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: AA PLTPRO, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,559
Although when you look at photos of old train cars, the overhead bin space is exactly where they would store sleepers. They actually looked like the angled bins on 777's - at night they would pull down into a bunk and then the lower seats would be converted.
Apr 12, 2019, 10:50 am
#14
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
Programs: Independent
Posts: 4,829
The idea is that you have a seat for takeoff and landing - in this case potentially tighter as you are in it for only short periods of time - and then move down to the beds once in the air. Obviously this is for real long haul flights. The idea has been around for a long time- I think it was technically offered at one point, but could be wrong. They already make them - they are used for crew rests, look them up on google images. The big issue is the evacuation requirements, but that is probably easily overcome.
As for the overhead space - that was a Boeing idea for the 747. If you look at the cross section of a wide-body airliner there is a lot of space above the bins because the fuselage is a circle more or less. Again it already exists on A330s for crew rests.
As for the overhead space - that was a Boeing idea for the 747. If you look at the cross section of a wide-body airliner there is a lot of space above the bins because the fuselage is a circle more or less. Again it already exists on A330s for crew rests.
Apr 12, 2019, 12:03 pm
#15
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
Seems like The Telegraph is about a year late with this story. (Plus, they need an editor because they misspell the word "business" in the first sentence.) If you search "airline bunk beds" in your favorite search engine, you'll likely find a bunch of articles from April 2018 about this concept. They use the exact same images, too.
That's how it's explained in this article:
Airbus says they’ll be aimed at economy-class passengers, who would still have to spend takeoff and landing in a regular seat—the sort that's been through extensive crash testing. But during a flight, fliers could rent a bunk, presumably for less than the price of a lie-flat business-class seat, and get some proper rest.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/airbus-beds-cargo-hold/
These passenger compartments can theoretically get swapped in/out depending upon needs of the airline according to the design firm (Zodiac):
What is clear is that airlines may swap the modules in and out depending on where a particular plane is headed. “The new passenger modules will be easily interchangeable with regular cargo containers during a typical turnaround,” Zodiac said in a statement, meaning the beds could be removed for short trips and installed for longer flights.
Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/air...the-cargo-hold
Airbus says they’ll be aimed at economy-class passengers, who would still have to spend takeoff and landing in a regular seat—the sort that's been through extensive crash testing. But during a flight, fliers could rent a bunk, presumably for less than the price of a lie-flat business-class seat, and get some proper rest.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/airbus-beds-cargo-hold/
Cargo holds carry revenue cargo, often at higher utilisation factors than the passenger cabin above. One of the key downsides of the A380, with two passenger decks and all their baggage in the hold, has been insufficient cargo space, the proportions are wrong. Airlines started using all their space, both ways, long ago (both ways because unlike passengers cargo invariably goes one way only, you need to find a different source of cargo for the return). Although you may see some freighters, and the big package express companies, the considerable majority of air freight goes by underfloor hold.
What is clear is that airlines may swap the modules in and out depending on where a particular plane is headed. “The new passenger modules will be easily interchangeable with regular cargo containers during a typical turnaround,” Zodiac said in a statement, meaning the beds could be removed for short trips and installed for longer flights.
Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/air...the-cargo-hold