ReDesigning an Aeroplane interior – Please Help ! ! !

Hello again all.
Didnt they try the backwards facing seats and people not like them?
I do like the idea though, i’v been trying to come up with a design where the back rest of the seat and rotate around to the other side thus making you sit backwards in the event of an emergency as its supposed to be safer that way .

Look at Etihad First Class on A340-500:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Etihad-Airways/Airbus-A340-541/1097128/L/

180 degree revolving seat.

These seats can also go fully flat. Perhaps you could design revolving seats which do not go fully flat and take up less space, so that they could be used in business, not just first. But not in coach: where do the feet go when the seat is rotating through the 90 degree sideways position?

Backwards facing seats… in 747… in coach… like this?
http://www.airliners.net/photo/United-Airlines/Boeing-747-122/1380691/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/United-Airlines/Boeing-747-122/1379907/L/

I’ve seen them on board the preserved Comet 4 at East Fortune as well, and don’t the RAF have them in the cabins of their Tristars and VC-10’s ?

Hello again all. Well i would judt like to say thankyou to everyone who took the time out to post on my thread. The project in due in a week, so if any of you have anymore thoughts id still be interested to hear them.
Thankyou again
Rod Went
Coventry University.

Only some adivce. Many people use an aurplane because they have to get from A to B and they want to spent as little money as possible on it. So whatever you come up with should not cost more.
So larger seats and more room for the passengers are not a solution, as it reduces the number of paying passengers.
A rotating seat might be nice, especially if traveling as group, but even if the mechanic only weights in at 1 kg, then it quicky adds 150-200 kg to the total weight. And that in a time in which airlines have replaced their magazines with an onscreen solution to get rid of the magazine weight.
Imho your best 3 paramters are light, desing of the overheand bins and the seats. If you can make a light system that is nicer and lighter and uses less energy, then you are on track. Same with the other 2 things you can work on.

Hello again all.
Didnt they try the backwards facing seats and people not like them?
I do like the idea though, i’v been trying to come up with a design where the back rest of the seat and rotate around to the other side thus making you sit backwards in the event of an emergency as its supposed to be safer that way . . . also i find sitting on a chair backwards (straddling it i guess?!?) is quite a comfortable position to sleep, and you take up alot less space.

any other ideas floating around?

Have a look at the railway carriages on the UKs preserved steam railways. Then you could design the interior like the Russians did with their Tupolevs in the 1960s…

Bri 😉

hello Bri, I cant seem to find what your referring to? any links?

Backwards facing seats… in 747… in coach… like this?
http://www.airliners.net/photo/United-Airlines/Boeing-747-122/1380691/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/United-Airlines/Boeing-747-122/1379907/L/

I like what they do on the Airbus A330/340 with that little downstairs module that can be configured in various ways, as a toilet area, shop area, rest area etc. If they could make something like that into a viewing area with a large window or something without compromising structural integrity…

Also, wouldn’t it be good to have some seats that could be configured to face backwards, so that those travelling together in groups could face each other, perhaps with a train style table between them ?

Could you have larger windows without effecting the strength? Ones in the floor?:cool:

Have a look at the railway carriages on the UKs preserved steam railways. Then you could design the interior like the Russians did with their Tupolevs in the 1960s…

Bri 😉

Well, one particular flight comes to my mind. Sometime in 2007, I have been one one of Delta Connection’s brand new (by then) Emb-170. Nice plane, but the seats… Those were terrible. You felt like you were sitting on a badly designed park bench. They were rock hard, and their shape meant that no normally constituted human would find a comfortable position into it. And this isn’t because they were of the slim type, I have been on some which are very comfy.

So, seat ergonomics will be a big plus. The seat placement issue (how to get to the aisle in an easy way) doesn’t have a solution.

Regarding your “camera” channel on PTV, that would definitely be a plus. One looking down, and also one looking in front. This is a view very few can have, and which can be very nice when “surfing” on a cloud layer.
Also, in the field of the entertainment system: I think that all PTV systems now have a map, but, the good idea would be to make this a moving map, a it like Google Earth is.
Another plus, which is slowly coming, would be a usb plus in each seat, to give power to IPods, and other devices travellers often carry. And of course power plugs for those of us who have to work on the plane.

Another thing that always poses problems on planes are the luggage bins. There’s never enough of it.

On long haul, you might also want to provide some sort of water fountain for passengers to help themselves. I am sure flight attendants would love the idea.

And, GatwickJosh… I suspect you never flew on Northwest’s DC9s? Because they have been refurbished, and believe me, given the choice, I’d take them everytime over a 737 or an A32x… They’re roomy, comfy, and if you wish so, just go sit in the back, and you get that nice engine noise 🙂 (or sit in the front, and it’s quiet)

Anyone else have any insights?? . .

Alot of people like the whole window thing it seems. Could you please help me understand this a little better? Why exactly do you like to look out the window during the flight? What emotions does it bring you?

Well for me, looking out of the window is a great experience because you can often see the earth/sea beneath you (depending on how high and how much cloud is around!), but even more so, whenever I look out of the window, I get the sense that we are not travelling very fast at all as everything seems to be moving so slowly outside, yet I know in reality that we are travelling at very high speed.

Would a few ‘under plane cams’ be good enough for you as part of your entertainment channels?

Hmmm…I’ve never seen/used them before so I wouldnt know what that would be like, but I suppose they would be a good feature…

Could you all try and explain to me what ‘Comfort’ means to you . .

You see this is a big problem because my concept of ‘comfort’ could very well differ from someone elses…and that I think is going to be your biggest hurdle.

Comfort for me is one of if not the most important aspects of travelling by air, especially on overnight-flights. Firstly the seat itself has got to be comfortable…I don’t mind leather seating, but I actually prefer padded seating because it doesn’t irritate you as much, and I find that I can fall asleep better on a padded seat than a leather one, don’t know why, just do?

Did you check your PM’s, this is where I have some info for you that you might find useful towards your project!:)

Also, I am quite a tall person so legroom is a crucial issue as I would like to be able to stretch my legs out, without having to put them into the aisle and risk having the cabin crew run over my feet with the catering trolley (a very painful experience that I can testify to, thanks to BA!).

I have already let my feelings be known about Virgin’s new configuration on their Airbus A340-600 and how much I hated it when I travelled on it from LAX-LHR back in July, but like I said before, you have got to think from the airline’s point of view in terms of costs and profit-margins and not just from the passengers.

Maybe i could give the the sence of lying down without u physically doing it . . trick your sences . .

Now that would be quite interesting…how exactly would that be able to work though and would you be able to offer it to all passengers?

Also, another problem I have thought of for you to tackle…is the noise in the cabin during the flight. Perhaps you can design a way to reduce the level of noise from the aircraft to allow for a more peaceful flight?

Another quick question . . . .

Could you all try and explain to me what ‘Comfort’ means to you . .

is it all about phtyical comfort i.e the seat?
or is it more than that?
how can i satisfy all of your sences and make you truely comfortable . .
(try and answer that knowing the seats were NOT able to recline)
maybe i could give the the sence of lying down without u physically doing it . . trick your sences . .

Rod Went

it really does depend on what type of aircraft or the airline you are flying on.

If you can think-up/design a way of allowing me look out of the window and to get up to use the toilet without causing a disturbance to other passengers…I am all ears/eyes!:D

Regards,

Jon.

Sorry i forgot to mension this, I will most probably be designing for a Boeing 747.

Alot of people like the whole window thing it seems. Could you please help me understand this a little better? Why exactly do you like to look out the window during the flight? What emotions does it bring you?
Because to me, its basically just clouds and sky for 95% of the journey . . .
Would a few ‘under plane cams’ be good enough for you as part of your entertainment channels?

Thankyou again for helping me out with all this,
Rod Went
Coventry University

Hello there everyone,
Im a Transport and Product Design student at Coventry University, and for my final year (4th year) Project I have decided to Redesign the economy interior of an aeroplane.

Too me the journey should be part of the fun, an experience. So Im trying to completely change the way the interior works.

I want to design not only around passenger comfort, but also make jobs easier for a cabin crew.

What problems do you encounter in existing aeroplanes, with regards to design? Any everyday acttivities that cause problems and could be made easier.

Welcome to the forum DesignStudent.:)

You certainly have chosen an interesting project!?

I totally agree with you when you say that the journey should be part of the experience, but unfortunately I do have to agree with gatwickjosh (for once!:p) because it really does depend on what type of aircraft or the airline you are flying on.

And also, from an airline’s perspective, at the end of the day they in business to make money, although the safety and well-being of the passengers they carry is a priority, the overall ‘experience’ felt by passengers will be hard to achieve as everyone has very different needs. Fiddling with the configuration of the aircraft, such as taking seats out, simply to increase comfort to pax is not necessarily a viable option because this will result in the airline’s costs being higher per seat, which will ultimately mean higher fares.

I know that there have been many ideas already put forward, including redesigning of the aircraft seats itself, adjusting seats so that are inter-facing each other (a bit hard to explain in words!), but if you have ever seen a business-class seat, you might know what I am trying to get on at…and there have also been some more radical ideas such as double-decked seating, whereby you have passengers split on two levels but then you have to think about health & safety when it comes to aircraft evacuation and whether they would be able to get down from the top-level seats quickly enough in order to escape from an aircraft in any such event (i.e. fire).

As for problems that are encoutered on existing aircraft, I have one really big problem…I always end up needing to go to the toilet at some point during a flight (sometimes more than once!:o), so to avoid disturbing everyone else sat next to me I end up choosing to sit in the aisle seat to allow easy access. Whilst you maybe thinking this is a good thing, and it is…it does have one major drawback as I then cannot look out of the window!:(

If you can think-up/design a way of allowing me look out of the window and to get up to use the toilet without causing a disturbance to other passengers…I am all ears/eyes!:D

Regards,

Jon.

Thanks for spending some time reading/writing all that.

But just because its an economy interior, doesnt mean it has to be hugely uncomfortable . . . Comfort doesnt always have to mean expensive tv’s etc . .
There are plenty of ways to improve all this without spending huge amounts of money. These are what i am interested in.
And believe me, i know all about the ‘bums/butts in seats’ way that airlines work. I am a 4th year student and have done ALOT of research.
Plus, this is a minor project and I am looking to go down a very conceptual design path. I was just interested in what input you guys had to say.

I would love to hear and wacky idea you have, nothing is too out there ! ! set your minds free !

Rod

To be honest it all depends on the type of aircraft or the airline.

Had you flown a lowcost carrier such as Southwest then you can not expect services like on the Singapore A380 first class cabin, in your economy seat!

And as it was American carriers you had flown, it may have had something to do with the “older” series of aircraft in use the other side of the pond. Example, NW DC9s, im not aware of them being refurbished(sure they have) and if they havn’t then the interiors are like 30-40 years old!

But in an economy cabin you have to bear in mind several factors. Passengers are paying the lower fares, so why should they get top notch services? It is is usually the majority of number of seats on the aircraft, so expensive to fit out fully with 52″ PTVs!:rolleyes: And some carriers, mainly LCCs, need higher number of passengers, so they “sqweeze” in as many seats as possible. Example Ryanair with 189 seats on their 737-800s. This does mean that not everybody gets 36″ of legroom, but when travelling an airline such as Ryanair, or Southwest you dont really expect that of them. And if you do, in my opinion your crazy!

Remember, every seat makes more money for these companies. So if they can get a few more rows in by sacrificing the legroom. Then they will do it. Especially low cost airlines!

The rest all comes down to cost really. Better seats cost more money. PTVs cost alot more money. The list goes on.

Josh