Jetlag is a common downside for passengers crossing time zones around the world. It occurs when their bodies readjust to a new time zone once they touch down. However, commercial aircraft companies Airbus and Qatar Airways are now introducing an anti-jetlag airbus made from carbon fiber. They have given it the name ‘A350 XWB’ with many improvements.
Alain De Zotti, Airbus’s chief engineer for the A350 XWB program, said, “The design process was about optimization, pushing the constraints and opening up the box of solutions.”
It aims to minimize the groggy feeling of traveling halfway around the world. Inside the cabin, they change color to mimic the sun’s natural glow; at the same time, they are designed to fit with our body’s natural circadian rhythms, whatever time it is. It has an air filtering system that refreshes air inside the cabin every 2-3 minutes.
Outside of the anti-jetlag features, its body is made from 50% carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. This technology helps us build more efficient and lightweight aircraft, minimizing costs.
It creates a 25% improvement in the plane’s fuel economy with larger and wider wings with flaps that follow the flight path direction rather than wind compared to other currently used planes. This latest feature could make rides smoother.
In economy class, the fuselage is wider to accommodate larger passenger seats, which are an extra inch wider than the standard width. Because seat configurations vary from carrier to carrier and there is fierce competition for the best business and first-class cabins, passengers can move easily down the aisles.
Over it, De Zotti said, “Business class is now like first class, and first class is like little apartments.”
The carrier can easily swap seats and tweak configuration, so Airbus designed the interior to be adaptable.
De Zotti said, “We are trying to make the jet relevant for the future. There’s an open architecture that can evolve to welcome new functions and can cope with the evolution of technology.”
