Airbus to build interchangeable sleeping compartments in cargo hold

2018-04-16T15:49:00-04:00

European plane-maker Airbus has announced it is to develop lower-deck passenger modules that sit inside the cargo hold. In a press release Tuesday, the firm said it was partnering with Zodiac Aerospace to build the compartments, complete with sleeping berths for passengers. Airbus said the intention is to receive formal approval from aviation bodies by 2020 with the first installation to be made on an A330 aircraft.

Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace are creating sleeping modules that would be interchangeable with regular cargo containers. This would give airlines the flexibility to reconfigure their cargo on layovers or turnarounds. Their first mock-up was reportedly well received by airlines.

Take a look in their sleeping module mock-up:

Airbus promises autonomous flying taxis in the (very) near future

2016-08-26T14:12:00-04:00

Airbus appears to be serious about its "Vahana" project, aimed at creating an autonomous passenger drone network, and thinks testing can begin as early as 2017. [...] Airbus is also working on a drone delivery service [...] and plans to start testing it at a Singapore university by mid-2017. The cargo-laden vehicles fly automated routes in "aerial corridors," then drop them off and send delivery notifications to customers.

Airbus engineers are dreaming up no small endeavor as laid out in the company's Future of Urban Mobility vision:

"Imagine landing at a major international airport after a long flight in an A380. Instead of suffering through a 90-minute taxi ride in the megacity’s gridlocked traffic, you hop into an electrically operated aerial vehicle from zenHOP, which brings you to your destination – landing on your chosen zenHUB – in just nine minutes. Too expensive? No, zenMOVE has found three other travellers who also want to get to the city centre. As a result, the flight costs no more than a taxi ride. On top of that, no need to worry about your luggage – zenLUGGAGE takes care of that – or your security, as zenCYBER protects your flight against hacker attacks."

↑ Illustration of Airbus' Skyways drone parcel delivery service, which will enter test mode on the campus of the National University of Singapore in mid-2017.

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Airbus to build interchangeable sleeping compartments in cargo hold

Airbus promises autonomous flying taxis in the (very) near future