On board the Airbus A350
By Sharon Petersen Mon Jul 11, 2016
It’s no secret that Airbus touts itself as the comfort manufacturer of the industry and the greatest example of this is its A350 XWB (extra wide body).
With six inches more width across the fuselage than one of its competitors the 787, it argues that there is a greater feeling of space.
AirlineRatings.com took the opportunity to go onboard this impressive new aircraft at the Farnborough Air Show.
Upon boarding and walking through business class, the noticeable difference is the absence of overhead storage bins in the centre and the subsequent feeling of space.
A redesign of the storage bins says Airbus means all luggage can easily fit into just the bins above the windows.
VIDEO : See on board video here.
The standard, business class layout features 42 lay flat seats that have a 42 inch seat pitch.
In economy, seats have a 5 inch recline and 31 inch seat pitch and feature high definition 12 inch seat back screens. Airbus like to promote their standard 18 inch seat width which is 1 inch more than the standard seats on the Boeing 787, it's direct competitor it claims. However that all depends upon how many seats an airline fits to its 787s.
Of course, it’s ultimately up to the airline what seat width and pitch it wants. It’s a trade-off between seat density and comfort but all 7 Airbus A350 operators have left their economy seats at the 18 inch recommended.
Personal space is further enhanced by vertical sidewalls (see below), large windows and most importantly, unnoticeable inflight entertainment boxes meaning every passenger gets the full amount of foot space - a massive leap forward in economy comfort.
The aircraft also has seven separate temperature zones meaning they can customise the temperature with a lower temperature in the main cabin where there are more people and a higher temperature in business class and crew areas where there is simply less body heat. In addition to this, the air is renewed every two minutes and pressurized to an equivalent 6000ft altitude to help passengers arrive refreshed.
Bathrooms are more hygienic than ever with touchless features, ambient sounds and appropriate LED lighting.
For the cabin crew it's comfort on a whole new level with a spacious, functional galley and impressive crew rest area.
The Airbus representative also reminded us of one last thing…. 'Remember to whisper… this is the quietest cabin in the sky'.
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