These Design Concepts Gives Us a Glimpse Into the Future of Flying

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Loft

Photo: Virgin Atlantic

The Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Loft was created for Virgin Atlantic’s first A350-1000. It features mood lighting in the entry area where passengers board and replaces the previous Upper Class bar with a unique lounge for premium class passengers to gather, grab a drink, or dine during the flight.

Collapsible beds for the Flying V

Photo: TU Delft

Developed by the Delft University of Technology in cooperation with KLM, these collapsible beds utilize wing space to create sleeping bunks in economy class in this uniquely shaped aircraft. The new configuration would allow three passengers to lay down horizontally. With this design, both passengers and luggage take their place inside the wings and the seats/beds would be made much lighter, reducing airplane fuel consumption.

Coffee House Cabin

Photo: University of Cincinnati in cooperation with The Boeing Company and The Live Well Collaborative

Developed by the University of Cincinnati in partnership with The Boeing Company and The Live Well Collaborative, the Coffee House Cabin is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a productivity-minded zone in an airplane cabin, focusing on the needs of business travelers, offering dedicated workstations and personal space.

ZERO — Economy Meal Tray

Photo: PRIESTMANGOODE

This sustainable product created by PriestmanGoode would reduce the amount of plastic waste created by the meal service on passenger flights. These lightweight, sustainable trays are made of edible, biodegradable, and compostable materials.

Greywater Reuse Unit

Photo: Skycolors/Shutterstock

This innovative system takes hand-wash water from the sink in airplane bathrooms and repurposes it for flushing the toilet. This significantly reduces the amount of potable water used by a plane, resulting in CO2 savings of about 550 tons per year per aircraft.