Airbus’ excellence in cabin design, innovation and efficiency will be on display at the Aircraft Interiors Expo this week, where the company’s latest galley concept and A350 XWB immersion theatre – featuring new views of this next-generation jetliner’s cabin – will take centre stage.

The highlight of the company’s presence at this Hamburg, Germany event – the world’s largest trade fair for aircraft interior furnishing and design – will be a prototype of a new galley type, called SPICE (SPace Innovative Catering Equipment), on public display for the first time. Shown under the banner “Welcome to the future,” the prototype was developed through cooperation with airlines, suppliers and caterers – underscoring Airbus’ themed commitment to develop “New Standards. Together.” 

As the first major new galley concept in more than 40 years, the Airbus-developed SPICE galley offers multiple advantages for airlines, including hundreds of kilogrammes of weight savings, space for additional seating, and better ergonomics for cabin crew. SPICE has received high marks from airline representatives during demonstrations, been endorsed by cabin crew, and tested and refined by airline caterers.

“We are confident that airlines seeing SPICE at the Aircraft Interiors Expo will want to find out more about the value this concept brings,” says Daniel Percy, Aircraft Interiors Marketing Manager. “This year, we’re investing in equipment to allow airlines to quantify how big the benefits will be when tailored to their own operation.” 

Also part of the Airbus exhibit at Aircraft Interiors Expo will be a representative A350 XWB forward fuselage section, which serves as a high-resolution “immersion theatre” for a 3-D video presentation on Airbus’ newest jetliner. This feature will enable visitors to experience the development of the next-generation aircraft programme, including previously unseen details of the cabin.

Airbus Upgrade Services will exhibit new products and services at the Expo, with a focus on retrofittable innovations – including the new A320 cabin offering. An interactive display will highlight this Airbus division, which helps increase the value of operators’ in-service fleets with aircraft cabin enhancements. 

Featured as well at the Hamburg event will be 1/20-scale cutaway models highlighting typical interior layouts of the latest members of the Airbus family: the 21^st century flagship A380 and the all-new A350 XWB.

Source: Airbus
Photo: Rob Vogelaar, ZAP16 Group