Airbus’ Hidden Airspace Design Tricks That Make Narrowbody Cabins Feel Bigger

Airbus announced the Airspace cabin for the A320 family at the Paris Air Show in June 2017, translating design language developed for the A350 XWB and A330neo onto a narrowbody fuselage. The package is retrofittable, which defines its scope. Nothing structural moves. The sidewall panels, overhead bins, window bezels, lighting, and lavatories all change, while the cross-section underneath stays where it is. Redesigned sidewalls add roughly one inch at head and shoulder level. The bins abandoned the tilt-down design for a fixed configuration, holding eight bags per four-frame bin against five, a 40% volume increase. A hero ceiling light with 16.4 million color options runs the length of the cabin.