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Airbus' Funky "Mezzanine Seating" Concept

Business Class as jungle gym

By Rain Noe - October 7, 2015

in Cars

A recently-granted Airbus patent is causing quite the stir. The company's Hamburg-based design team envisions a variety of cabin arrangments with staggered "mezzanine seating" protruding into the "substantially unused upper lobe of the aircraft fuselage," and most press outlets seem to be unfairly demonizing it, accusing the company of trying to stack us like parcels.

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However, if you take a closer look at the concept, it actually seems to make good sense. If they can make the geometry work and effectively take up dead space in the cabin, while freeing passengers from being placed elbow-to-elbow, it seems this design would achieve Airbus' stated goal of "[guaranteeing] a high level of comfort independent of whether the seats of the passenger seat arrangement are used in their upright seating position or their reclined lying position."

Mezzanine seating forwards

Mezzanine seating backwards

Mezzanine seating for hypnotists

One variant of the concept has the Mezzanine-seated passengers sitting sideways. That would make take-off and landing an interesting experience.

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Alas, fellow coach flyers, the concepts as proposed are intended for Business Class. All of the extra materials required to construct split-level seating are of course going to cost money, money that we back in steerage are probably not willing to part with. But it might be fun to watch, during the boarding process, the folks up in Business climbing around like kids on a jungle gym.

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Patrick Flynn

9 years ago

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The cabin floor is instrumental to carrying the passenger loads. Raising the passengers weight above the floor will require additional structure. That, in turn, will raise the aircraft's empty weight.

However, there might still be an attractive trade there if the planes overall length can be significantly reduced. That would take other weight out and lower the planes total surface area thus reducing overall drag. But what would they do with the "D" cargo containers? A shorter plane would carry fewer of them.

Design, it's all about the trades....

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David Wood

9 years ago

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Meanwhile, I'm thinking of sudden stops and crash safety. How is a lightweight structure designed to hold passengers aloft—sometimes not even sitting forward—going to handle an emergency landing that gets a little too rough? I can't help thinking that the problem that they're really addressing is http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/airlines-want-you-to-suffer .

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Patrick Flynn

9 years ago

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And what about spilled beverages? Look out below!

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Noodle Time

9 years ago

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hey! i get top bunk!

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Tom Coyle

9 years ago

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Beverage service should be interesting...

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Derek Chan

9 years ago

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The biggest problem with this arrangement I see is stinky feet.

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- Thom Edley
  
  Derek Chan
  
  9 years ago
  
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  Pressurized cabin = gassy bowels = farts. Ugh.
  
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