As single-aisle aircraft extend operations into ever longer flights airlines must address crew rest requirements. Twin-aisle planes have the advantage of unused space in the crown (i.e. above the passenger cabin, often blended into the center overhead bins) or a belly container for crew rest. Single-aisle planes cannot offer those options. Giving over a full row of economy seats or beds in business class takes away from potential revenue. So how to deliver that mandated space without giving up precious passenger seats in the cabin?
Diehl has a new design, short-listed for a 2023 Crystal Cabin Award, that could help solve the problem.
The Single Aisle Crew Rest module takes advantage of otherwise unused space near the forward entry/exit doors. Mounted into that galley space, the integrated, foldable elements extend down on to the crew rest seats, using that extra structure to support the rest area.
For boarding, deboarding and evacuation, the beds can be easily folded up and pushed back into the stowage module in seconds.
The module extends the galley area slightly to make the beds long enough, but it is much smaller than dedicated seats/beds on board, saving floor space overall.
And if the design comes up short for the crew requirements Diehl sees a couple other potential use cases options. Among them, using the rig for a dedicated medical transport cabin or a bunk for passengers to catch a quick nap on the long haul flights. It is no SkyNest, but on a single-aisle plane where space is far more limited, it just might be enough to get the job done.
And compared to the cabin space consumed in the Airbus renderings back in 2019, this is WAY more efficient.
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i like but it takes up galley space for meal prep. i guess the idea is that crew naps happen outside of the main meal times so this space would be dual use: food prep / galley + bed? i guess that works schedule wise since narrowbody range isn’t long enough to require really long crew rest periods.
I assume this would be a1 1L, where there’s not typically much going on during meal time, rather than 1R, where the ovens and carts are. Maybe that space holds some carts typically? There would definitely be some work needed to sort out the logistics.
And I can’t imagine how much fun it will be to explain to FAs they’re losing seats in the front galley mid-flight because the pilots need that space to sleep.
Can’t imagine FAA would certify seats that obstruct one of the main exits to be used in an emergency. Even if they fold-up, if something happens when a pilot/FA is resting, could be problematic?
There are lots of things that get approved for use in flight that wouldn’t be allowed during critical phases. I don’t think that will be an issue. Whether an airline is willing to take away that galley storage space and the bit of footprint to deploy it is much more in play. And there’s no way it is a two-person solution. So is it worth losing the space for one flat bed?