The A350-900 and -1000 will be transitioned to a new production standard called a "new production standard" between now and the year 2024.
The Runway Girl Network spoke with the head of aircraft interiors marketing Anas Marzo and the vice president of cabin marketing in depth about the plans.
The A350s bring a weight reduction of up to 1.2t, a maximum takeoff weight increase, and enhanced performance. In the cabin, they offer an extra 35” of cabin length from moving the rear bulkhead and adjusting the arrangement of the flight deck, forward crew rest and forward monuments.
The A350 nine abreast economy is already excellent. The image is of an aircraft.
Anas Marzo says that the weight reduction is due to the use of advanced materials. The carbon fibre use in the wings and the fuselage will be increased.
There is no change to the plane. In order to improve the way in which you can control flaps during takeoff and increase the number of positions, there is a software change.
The maximum takeoff weight on the A350-900 and A350-1000 has been increased due to a system that enables faster landing gear retraction.
It's a question of width and length inside the cabin.
The interior of the aircraft's cabin will be able to fit two inches more closely to the inside of the aircraft's fuselage on either side as a result of the new frames being changed. This is referred to as "frame sculpting".
Four inches is added to the cabin width by the A350s. The image is of an aircraft.
This allows a total of four inches more cabin width at armrest level, with an Airbus diagram showing additional space of approximately two inches per side from armrest to mid-thigh, and a smaller amount of additional space between the top of the windows and the overhead bins.
The A350s have a 4′′ wide cabin. The image is of an aircraft.
It will allow them to offer 17” wide seats with a 1.5” armrest width and 17” aisle, up from 16.7” per seat with a 1.8” armrest on the aisle. The cabin for the NPS ten-abreast is 223.5 inches, compared with 219.4 for the previous generation.
The proof of the A350 seats being 16.4” wide in the last decade or so will be seen by long time readers of RGN. It seems that even full-service carriers are following in the footsteps of low-cost and leisure carriers like Air Carabes and French bee and going in this direction.
What does the A350s mean for the economy? The image is of an aircraft.
Some airlines took a stand on ten-abreast 777s, some five inches wider than the new A350, even in their current- generation pre-777X version, which will have new sculpted sidewalls. For these airlines, which will retain nine-abreast in the new production standard, there is an example of how airlines can pass around the extra four inches between passengers.
An example of 19” seats with an 18” aisle, a 5” centre console and a 1.8” single armrest width can be found in premium economy, where the A350 is the least generous in the sky. The use of the additional 4” is being worked on by seatmakers.
There is more space in the galleys.
Beyond the seats, cabin crew and passengers will be relieved to find more space in the forward and rear galleys, where the A350 has come in for some criticism.
Behind doors 4, the rear pressure bulkhead of the aircraft has been pushed backwards by one full frame, creating 24” of extra space. There is either a large new "V-Shape XL Galley" or the "ICE [ Increased Cabin Efficiency] XL", both of which offer a smaller galley space but one lavatory on either side of the aircraft. Six full trolleys of capacity, plus the workspace and galley insert space above them, is a notable feat.
Extra trolley and space is added from a lower starting position due to the pair of lavs behind doors 4. The image is of an aircraft.
There are two ways in which the space at the front of the plane has been improved. The crew cabin control unit and two flight attendant seats have been moved a bit closer to the door. The fourth seat in the flight deck has been swapped from floor-mounting to wall-mounting, which allows the flight deck wall to be pushed forwards.
The galley is growing by a lot of stuff. The image is of an aircraft.
There are two options ahead of 1L: a new four-trolley galley with extra insert space or a 50-inch premium lavatory. We will wait for more information before judging this claim on its merits.
If airlines prefer to put their bathroom somewhere else, a larger galley is an option. The image is of an aircraft.
On the other side of the gangway leading to the flight deck, ahead of door 1R, the access to the crew rest has been relocated, resulting in a new greatly expanded galley with an increase in inserts and workspace.
The forward crew rest is in the right hand aisle. The image is of an aircraft.
The crew rest is moved to the monument column immediately ahead of the front row of passengers, meaning that the galley space is reduced from three to two.
It has been suggested that Gentex's windows are twice as fast as previous versions, 100 times darker and block most of the visible light.
The A350s will make a significant difference. More galley space is a very welcome addition.
The extent to which full-service airlines choose what will be the smallest economy class product in the sky is one of the big questions.
Seatmakers have done a lot of work on this, but it has not been without risk. Judgement will be held until we see the product.
There are related articles.
The image was credited to the aircraft manufacturer.
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