Airbus' patent on modular cabin is now approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The modular cabin is designed to attach to the airplane after other modules are removed. This should cut down the preparation time of the planes for takeoff and disembark.
The patent illustrates the cabin module as "comprising a floor, an upper aircraft fuselage portion connected to the floor, and a first and a second end wall, wherein the first and second end walls, the floor and the upper aircraft fuselage portion form a cabin." The document also describes that these cabins are modified to accommodate passengers, luggage, freight or the combination of everything. Basically, the parts of an airplane are removed to disembark its cargo, while other tubes containing passengers or cargo are easily attached to its place for the next flight. This should remove the time in waiting for the plane to be emptied before new luggages are loaded.
Airbus proposed this airplane design to reduce the plane's turn-time, easing the human traffic inside airports, as well as clearing the runway itself with only a few planes on standby. Airbus believes that modular cabin will make airplane operations smoother. This patent is filed by the company in February 2013 and is now approved.
There is no guarantee that this concept will materialize on commercial airplanes, especially when it is worth noting that designing an airplane takes a lot of money and time. Airbus' A350-XWB is developed for a decade and costs billions in research and development. Its design is considered conservative compared to the approved proposal by Airbus.
Airbus is a French aerospace company known for its fly-by-wire airliner Airbus A320 and the designer of the largest commercial passenger plane, the A380. Airbus also produces military planes for different countries including the United Kingdom. The company is also designing a supersonic private business jet that is expected to be released in 2021.
