The growing need for cabin flexibility

Every route flown by an airline attracts a distinct population, with distinct expectations, backgrounds and wishes.

This translates into a distinct product need for each route. For example, the clientele flying from Sao Paulo to New York are predominantly corporate, looking for comfort, lifestyle and services, whereas  the clientele flying from Sao Paulo to Miami will likely be a majority of leisure-oriented passengers looking for a low fare. While customer expectations are completely different, an airline still may need to have similarly configured aircraft flying these two routes. Here is where the importance of cabin flexibility and segmentation becomes crucial.

The trend to increase cabin segmentation has already started. Fifty four percent of the A350 backlog already configured in three classes and there is four times more premium economy today than there was 10 years ago and five and a half  times more economy plus than there was seven years ago. This trend is still in its infancy in Latin America as airlines are more traditional and continue to offer classic business or economy products. This is due to the fact that the Latin American passenger base is still less developed in terms of product awareness than others and doesn't yet demand a wider range of products. That being said, the need is around the corner, so airlines are already preparing for a shift in demand.

During the Cabin Interiors Expo in Hamburg in April, Airbus showcased two very innovative products aimed at enabling cabin flexibility and segmentation: the Butterfly Seat and Smart Cabin Reconfiguration.

The Butterfly Seat is a convertible seat concept that allows a two-seater premium economy product to be transformed into a comfortable full-flat business product, allowing the airline to adjust the size of each cabin class to each route and maximise the revenue for each flight. The concept has gained major industry recognition, being the recipient of the Crystal Cabin Award and the IATA Passenger Innovation Award.

To help airlines react to hourly, seasonal and market changes, and also to adjust the product to the different routes, Airbus has developed Smart Cabin Reconfiguration. Smart Cabin Reconfiguration adds legroom by allowing for the instant transformation from an Economy to an Economy Plus product by folding a row of seats and using the available space to easily repitch the seats in front.

Both products received notable attention during this year's Cabin Interiors Expo and will hopefully be seen flying with our customers soon, and enable them to meet their customers' expectations and offer them a better passenger product while improving their revenue.

For more information, please contact:
Esther Humanes Fuente
Airline Marketing Manager
esther.humanes-fuente@airbus.com