You could see this one coming a mile off: For the next generation of airliners, there will be no seats, no windows and little in the way of human interaction.
Planes have long wanted to fly closer to the Earth’s surface to save fuel, but so far there’s no solution that satisfies the need for efficient and efficient flight, and the desire for comfort and personal space.
Now, the shape of the future of first class travel is starting to look a little more like the Airbus Airpod.
The German company Zodiac Aerospace recently debuted an inflatable cabin at the Berlin Air Show.
The impressive new airship features two 110-foot-long airships filled with helium, which can be filled to a filling level of 1,600 cubic feet.
The tall airships are fitted with a 100-foot-wide interior that can accommodate more than 130 passengers.
The airship can also fit a cockpit, large windows and even a whole kitchen and an abundance of food for guests onboard.
No ‘click and collect’ luggage
And unlike many other inflatable models on the market, which require not only you to fly these airships to pick up your bags, but the whole process is done via complex computer systems, the system is completely autonomous.
No “click and collect” baggage will ever be required on these planes.
There’s more to the Air Pod then just a rich and spacious cabin.
It contains two enclosed pilot stations and is equipped with a refueling system. It is designed to use the air around it instead of a generator to charge batteries that give the plane an added set of engines.
This new design has been developed for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the Zodiac says its cheaper and a lot faster than other systems in use.
It’s still early days but the world will no doubt be watching to see how airports react to the first step towards an all-inclusive future of first class aviation.