This Airbus Day & Night first class suite concept offers a 'real' bed
By David Flynn, May 15 2018
As ever-improving business class seats narrow the gap against first class, Airbus is joining the push to elevate first class to a whole new level with its Day & Night suite.
This two-room concept divides each first class suite into seperate day-time and night-time areas, each designed around that singular purpose.
For the daytime leg of your A380 or A350 flight the 'day living zone' sports a stylish streamlined seat and an elongated table for dining and working...
... while an adjustable partition can accommodate companion dining.
Adjacent to this: a noise-insulated 'night zone' bedroom with a 2m long bed, or a "real bed" as Airbus likes to call it, as opposed to a fold-down bunk.
Both the day and night zones have video screens and stowage space.
"This novel configuration offers the passenger an exclusive travel experience, with two areas allowing to rest, work and entertain separately; and offering the opportunity to travel alone or with a partner," the company says.
Airbus cites the total footprint of the Day & Night suite stands at 3.4m², which is actually smaller than that of the latest superjumbo suites from Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines (that's hard to fathom when you study the photos, so perhaps there's some Dr Who-like TARDIS trickery at play here).
As novel as this Day & Night approach may seem, it's arguably a suite-centric evolution of Lufthansa's short-lived (2011-2015) Boeing 747-400 upper deck first class, which also paired a separate reclining seat and 2m bed, albeit in a more open cabin.
While still in development, Airbus estimates that airlines could be ushering passengers into an actual Day & Night first class suite by the end of 2019.
Of course, Airbus has form in first class flights of fancy, as you can see from these early concepts for the A380's primo berths which included spacious space-age suites and private lounges envisioned as sky-high social spaces.
Read more: The Airbus A380 first class concept cabins you never saw
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
04 Dec 2017
Total posts 69
Now you're flying!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
14 Mar 2017
Total posts 152
My impression is that the seats are in a partly shared cabin, while the bed is in a small room, and those pictures each show two cabins, not one (though the second bedroom isn't visible). This would allow one on each side of the plane.
17 Sep 2015
Total posts 388
'Real beds' as in railway sleeping berths don't have joins between parts of them.
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 440
The benefit Airbus and Being have is that they only need to sell aircraft, not actually fill them up with paying passengers.
17 Sep 2015
Total posts 388
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 974
Twin Suite would a great idea
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