Flying-V interior: Floorplan design for improved passenger comfort

Abstract

This graduation project investigates the opportunities for the design of a new floorplan concept for the Flying-V aircraft. The aircraft’s unique V-shaped layout brings about limitations for how seating and other interior elements such as lavatories and galleys can be placed in the floorplan. Meaning that a different approach needs to be taken regarding the placement of these elements. Regulations for example dictate that aircraft seating cannot be placed at an angle greater than 18° from the direction of flight (DOF), without the need for additional safety precautions such as airbags. Because the passenger cabin of the aircraft is angled at approximately 26°, seats cannot be placed in rows perpendicular to the cabin wall such as in conventional aircrafts. Additionally, with the design of a new floorplan, opportunities arise for the design of a differentiating passenger experience through improvements in passenger comfort. As described in this report, literature research and an online questionnaire resulted in the definition of five main passenger comfort aspects that are of interest to tackle with the design of a new floorplan: legroom, personal space, boredom, sleeping, and walking or being physically active. Research has shown that these five aspects are considered highly important for passenger comfort, but that they score low with regard to this. Indicating that, if these aspects are improved, overall passenger experience can be improved as well. Using these outcomes, along with research into the Flying-V’s cabin design and geometry, aircraft interior trends and developments, and approaches to aircraft floorplan design, four different design directions were developed. The floorplan concept that is further elaborated on in this report focusses on three of these passenger discomforts: legroom, personal space and the possibility for passengers to walk around the aircraft. Further development of this floorplan aimed to find an appropriate balance between improvements in these aspects and required passenger capacity. The resulting floorplan proposal contains three different seating configurations, with each seating section dedicated to different types of travel groups: individual travellers, couple travellers, and group travellers. Firstly, staggered seats facing the DOF are placed at the front of the aircraft and along the outer cabin wall. These seats are dedicated to individual travellers, as they have proven to increase a passengers’ sense of individual personal space and legroom. Secondly, seats dedicated to couple and group travellers are minimally staggered (similar to conventional seating), as this still allows the passenger to easily communicate with their travel partners, one of the drawbacks of seats that are staggered at larger distances. Keeping passenger capacity in mind, the extent to which seats are staggered affects the width of a seating row. So by using a combination of differently staggered seating configurations the width of the aircraft’s cabin can be used most optimally. In this floorplan, making the difference between a 9 or 10-abreast configuration. Additionally, a walking route around the front of the aircraft is created, allowing passengers to be more physically active on long-haul flights, while highlighting of one of the aircrafts unique design features.