Innovations in Flight Comfort

Read any travel blog and you’ll notice multiple tips and remedies to make flying more comfortable. While there are steps that passengers can take to prevent feeling ill-at-ease from flying, aircraft giants Boeing and Airbus are incorporating new designs to address the problem head-on. Many of the aviation equipment updates can be seen on the Airbus A380. Keep reading to find out how these modifications make flight more comfortable.

Room to Move (or Sit)

The A380 upper and lower decks are connected by two stairways. These were made wide enough for passengers to move in both directions. The A380 has enough cabin room that multiple passenger configurations can be used. Passengers that have flown in the A380 remark that they have much more head room and feel less cramped. Larger windows and seats were also added on the A380.

Mood Lighting

One of the smallest aviation equipment updates is new lighting. On the A380, lighting is ambient, you won’t find any bare light bulbs. LEDs are used in most parts of the aircraft. In the cabin, the lighting is able to simulate daylight or evening. Many passengers that travel long routes indicate that this helps with jet lag.

Cabin Pressure

The A380 claims to produce significantly less cabin noise than other large aircraft. This can result from an increase in cabin pressure. The A380 has higher cabin air pressure. The increase can make a passenger feel like they are traveling at a 5000 ft. altitude instead of 8000 ft. altitude. The closer that a person feel to sea level, the less likely they are to feel uncomfortable from flight. The increased cabin pressure also helps with issues like stomach, tooth, or sinus pressure.

Hydraulics

The A380 uses a 5,000 psi hydraulic system. This is a vast increase from the 3,000 psi systems that most other aircraft use. Higher pressure hydraulics were first used in military aircraft. The increase in hydraulic pressure allows for reduced pipeline sizes, smaller actuators and other components for a lighter weight aircraft. The pipelines are predominately composed of titanium. The hydraulics system has self-contained hydraulic power packs (powered by electricity). This type of system is more reliable, which in turn decreases maintenance and repair time.

Stay tuned to find out what other innovations we can expect new aircraft.