Will the next Airbus A350 you fly in have a 10-seat abreast cabin instead of 9-seat? If you think only LCCs would consider this, think again.
When it first launched the A350, Airbus touted its comfortable cabin as its main advantage. That’s why the jet’s full name is A350 XWB (for eXtra Wide Body): to set it apart from earlier A350 concepts, which featured a narrower A330-derived fuselage.
The plane’s original economy cabin layout featured nine seats per row in a 3-3-3 layout, the same as Boeing’s 787. However, the 787’s fuselage is slightly narrower, which is why Airbus highlighted its plane’s cabin width at every opportunity.
But from the outset, Airbus also promoted the A350 as a 777-300ER replacement. This applies particularly to the larger version of the Airbus widebody, the A350-1000. And now, with Boeing’s 777X looking like it might finally start carrying passengers sometime in the next 12 months, Airbus needs the A350 to work as an alternative to that, too.
Adding Seats To The A350 Cabin
For that to happen, the A350 cabin will need some additional seat capacity. This is why Airbus has been working on a configuration with ten economy seats per row in a 3-4-3 configuration (see below). Boeing’s 777 family has the same economy configuration, too.
If this story sounds familiar, it’s because it isn’t entirely new. Airbus first announced that it has been working on ways to squeeze ten seats in the economy cabin of the A350 nearly two years ago, and we covered it at the time.
For many, this was something only low-cost carriers (LCCs) flying long-haul might consider. LCCs operating the A330 have done something similar, configuring theirs with a 3-3-3 cabin instead of the customary 2-4-2.
But making the A350 a practical competitor to the 777X means that Airbus has been pitching the 3-4-3 economy cabin to a much wider group of airlines, and will continue to do so. Airbus believes that the A350-1000 with such a configuration would have better operating economics than Boeing’s 777-9.
The catch? Boeing’s 777 family has a wider cabin interior for those ten seats. The 777’s cabin is 5.87 meters (231”) wide, with the A350 at only 5.61 meters (221”). But there is a catch to the catch: Airbus has redesigned the sidewall panels of the A350, effectively increasing its cabin width to 5.72 meters (225”).
Who Will Do It, Though?
The slimmer walls reduce the A350’s width deficit to the 777 to around 15 centimeters (6”). Note, however, that Boeing has been resculpting the walls of the 777X family… which might add yet another catch to the catch, to the catch…
In practice, moving to a ten-seat abreast cabin means that the A350 will have 17”-wide seats, instead of the more common 18”-wide seats in widebodies. Single-aisle jets typically have 17”-wide seats, with some exceptions. The Airbus A220’s 2-3 cabin layout (see below) is good enough for seats wider than 18”!
Airbus also shaved about 1.5 tons of empty weight off the A350 and increased the plane’s gross weight by 3 tons, to allow airlines to fly more passengers with a good amount of fuel on board. The company also made the A350’s cabin LONGER by moving the cockpit wall forward and the rear pressure bulkhead backward. This adds up to a 0.89-meter (35”) gain.
For many airlines, cabin design and comfort are key selling points. Therefore, it is far from a given that airlines will switch to the 3-4-3 layout for economy, even if Airbus is keen for them to do so. So it will be interesting to see how many new (and existing?) A350 operators choose the higher capacity option.
