When Airbus started developing its new Airspace cabin for the A320 several years ago, it famously selected a larger flip-up bin rather than the swinging pivot bin it had offered as an option for the aircraft family or indeed other pivot-style solutions available on the retrofit market. The European airframer explained at the time that it wanted to make the A320’s bins lighter, less complex and — crucially — easy for flight attendants to manage.
Now, as Airbus brings the Airspace aesthetic to its A220 family, changing the curved pivot bins of the aircraft formerly known as the C Series to a spacious flip-up version, Airbus vice president cabin marketing Ingo Wuggetzer is ready to call it: “It’s the end of the pivot bin for single-aisle aircraft” in Airbus’ portfolio, he told Runway Girl Network at the APEX/IFSA Global EXPO in Long Beach, citing cabin crew preferences among the reasons for the decision.
Boasting a “consistent DNA” to the popular A320 Airspace cabin, the A220 Airspace interior features a new passenger service unit (PSU) design “completely in line with what we see on the A320”, said Wuggetzer, as well as an under-bin LED lighting solution that offers a vast array of colour options. But, he stressed, “the big feature that is new on the A220” is the Airspace XL Bin, which was developed together with airline customers. “That is showing a lot of improvement in terms of volume” on the A220, he said. “It’s 20% bigger. You have 15% more luggage, 10% more payload, and all of that with 20% less weight.” Major supplier Diehl Aviation has been commissioned to develop and produce the new overhead bins for the A220.
“Plus, we have service benefits because it’s very simple to open and close the bins,” continued the Airbus executive, and as such it’s “a lot easier to operate” because it doesn’t require members of the crew to do any heavy lifting to push up the bin — an especially important consideration given that the A220 workhorse may have several frequencies and turnarounds in one day.
As Airbus starts selling the A220 with the Airspace XL Bin, it sees the writing on the wall for pivot bins on its single-aisle aircraft.
Linefit pivot bins on the A220 will still be in play for some years to come, however, as Airbus won’t be ready to factory-fit the new Airspace cabin to the A220 until 2025 and even then the cutover is expected to take a few years.
Until that time, airlines are taking the classic configuration, with a total 283 A220s delivered to date — the latest in August to Italian flag carrier ITA Airways. The next A220 to be delivered is headed to Qantas, said Wuggetzer.
ITA Airways recently took delivery of an A220 in its new blue livery. The aircraft is fitted with the classic “C Series” pivot bin.
Meanwhile, the A320 family’s Airspace cabin, inclusive of the XL Bin — which became available in 2021 and is part of “a very steep ramp up plan at Airbus” — is enjoying robust take-up, with Wuggetzer revealing that Airbus has already delivered 110 A320s with Airspace to 11 customers. Japan’s StarFlyer is next in line to take delivery of an A320 with the new cabin, he said.
Notably, with Airbus’ introduction of the A321XLR, expected next year, “the Airspace cabin will get standard in the single-aisle fleet,” said Wuggetzer, That standard includes the XL Bin.
Because the A320 Airspace cabin has proven so popular as a linefit offering, Airbus is also offering it as a light retrofit option called the “Airspace L Bin”. Manufactured by EFW, this bin re-uses many parts of the original bin including the sidewall, ceiling and lighting, as first announced this spring at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. Lufthansa will be the first retrofit customer, revealed Wuggetzer during the APEX/IFSA Global EXPO, with 38 of the carrier’s A320s slated to be refitted with the Airspace L Bin starting in 2025.
In announcing the arrangement, Wuggetzer highlighted how the retrofit option not only creates a better experience for customers but also for members of crew. “In terms of size, this is the biggest in the market, the clear benchmark in terms of bag size and bag volume” and able to accommodate “one bag for every passenger”, he said.
Lufthansa is certainly keen, noting in a statement that the “large overhead bins can hold up to twice as many carry-on suitcases or bags as the current ‘bins’, because the items of luggage can now be stowed vertically and much more quickly and conveniently in the compartments, which are 40 percent larger”.
The new L Bin will be able to fit bags that are 61cm (height) x 38cm (width) x 25cm (depth). Image: Airbus
As these 38 aircraft are retrofitted with the new bins, they will also get new Geven slimlines, plus a dedicated USB port and a device holder in every seat, said Lufthansa.
A version of Airspace is also available on Airbus’ widebodies, with the first A350 Airspace cabin recently delivered to Air France. Though the cabin otherwise largely offers a very similar design language as on the A320, the Airspace bin for twin-aisle jets is a pivot solution that has proven so unpopular with some crew members that it has even led to litigation due to the strength required to close the bins.
While Airbus may not be quite ready to sound the death knell for the pivot bin on twin-aisle aircraft, it is doing so on single-aisle aircraft. That may beg some questions about the shelf life of certain pivot bin retrofit options for the A320 family.
Featured image credited to John Walton
