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Airbus wants to load passengers onto an airplane just like cargo

By Koh Wanzi - on 27 Nov 2015, 9:55am

Airbus wants to load passengers onto an airplane just like cargo

Image Source: Airbus

Do you hate the long waiting lines at airport security counters? Well, Airbus just got a patent approved to cut down the time needed for you to actually get seated. This involves – wait for it – a modular cabin design that would load containers of passengers onto arriving aircraft after swapping the previous planeload out.

Yes, you heard that right. Airbus is applying the cutting-edge technology involved in shipping and truck containers to commercial flights, and this time you’re the cargo. The patent filing includes descriptions of a removable cabin module comprising “a floor, an upper aircraft fuselage portion connected to the floor, and a first and a second end wall, wherein the first and second end walls, the floor and the upper aircraft fuselage portion form a cabin”.

Essentially, it’s a giant box with seats in it. The filing goes on to add that the cabins can be modified for “transport of passengers, luggage, freight or combinations thereof”. If we didn’t know better, we’d say that passengers are just another type of cargo to Airbus, albeit one that breathes, squirms, and occasionally squawks in protest when mishandled. I mean, everyone knows that airlines always put passengers first!

Frankly speaking, the idea is actually fairly ingenious. It’s not even the first to propose unconventional – and slightly disturbing – ways to cram people into flying tubes of metal. Just look at this other one from Airbus that describes stacking passengers on top of one another to maximize space. Or this one from Zodiac Seats France that flips the middle seats around in economy class so you can stare deep into the souls of your fellow passengers.

And just when you thought that transatlantic flights couldn’t get any better (or worse).

Source: Wired via The Verge

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