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aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
022 MARCH 2020
more of the glorious sleep that makes ULH routes
feel shorter and that helps passengers arrive at their
faraway destination feeling refreshed. The downside is
that there is some disruption during meal service, when
the bunks have to be stowed and the bottom bunk
restored to a triple seat, but that is a minor niggle.
The concept has no downside for airlines though,
according to ADSE, as the modular hardware has
a similar footprint to ‘economy plus’, and the
bunks represent an ancillary revenue opportunity.
The company also says that the design
conforms to current operational and
evacuation procedures and would not
represent a major certification issue.
As the hardware fits into the existing
seat tracks and luggage rack suspension
system, the concept would be easy to retrofit
into wide-body aircraft using existing
installation techniques and would not affect
the residual value of aircraft.
ADSE is not the first company to imagine
bunks in economy, but if such a design is
deemed feasible in terms of economics,
engineering and operations, perhaps the
Economy Sky Dream could become a reality.
1. IN THE TTL PHASE ALL
PASSENGERS SIT IN CONVENTIONAL
SEATS, FITTED FORE AND AFT
UPTOWN BUNK
Full lie-flat sleeping surfaces on ultra-long-haul flights
are the fantasy of many economy passengers. Could
the Economy Sky Dream concept make beds a reality?
The time savings and simplicity of ultra-long-haul (ULH),
point-to-point flights appeal to many travellers, but the
prospect of being unable to sleep for many more hours
can be unappealing to economy class flyers. In response,
Dutch transport engineering firm, ADSE, has developed
Economy Sky Dream, an economy comfort class concept
for wide-bodies, with a focus on enabling sleep without
impacting airline operations, cost of ownership or
airworthiness. The premise sounds like a dream for
long-haul travellers, so how does the concept work?
Economy Sky Dream offers three-tier bunk-beds
for the centre triples in a 3-3-3 seating configuration,
the centre location having the maximum cabin height,
which is maximised by not having central overhead
luggage bins.
During TTL and cabin service, the fore and aft layout
sees passengers seated opposite each other, with their
hand luggage stowed and secured under the seats. Once
the cruising phase begins, crew fold away the armrests
of the triple seat to form a bed surface, and then lower
two further beds from above, accessible by a fold-down
ladder. Each bed is 76-80in long (1.93-2.05cm)
depending on the aircraft and 23.6in (60cm) wide, and
features an individual PSU with USB charging port. The
result: beds for each Economy Sky Dream traveller, and
2. AFTER TAKEOFF, A LADDER IS
FOLDED DOWN TO AID ACCESS
TO THE UPPER BUNKS
3. THE LOSS OF OVERHEAD BINS
IS OFFSET BY THE SECURE
UNDER-SEAT STOWAGE SPACE
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