I know we have at least one aero engineer amongst us, so how about this for a middle-of-the-night idea: pre-loaded passenger pods.
Instead of having 300 or 400 people try to squeeze up one or two narrow aisles, past people loading bags into overhead lockers, and through only one, maybe two narrow entrances, how about passengers pre-loading into seating pods in the airport terminal, which are then driven to the parked aircraft and mechanically loaded directly onto the aeroplane?
Low cost airlines make their money from flying lots of trips per day, and thus depend on fast turnaround times. Having the opportunity to land, park in a bay near the runway (rather than taxi to the terminal), have their passenger pod/s unclipped and removed, and a new one clipped in, and be ready for takeoff in minutes, would surely be something they would welcome. Passengers would surely welcome the end of the queuing in the aisle of the plane, and, particularly, the huge distances they need to walk to get to their departure gate. Airports could become more compact as aircraft no longer need to have space around a terminal building. Space is a big issue in a number of European airports.
Obviously this would need a whole new approach to aeroplane design. Fundamentally, I guess it would either mean retaining the permanent long tube outer skin of the craft, and sliding the pod/s in through the tail as in heavy transport aircraft, or the pod/s themselves would form the outer skin of the fuselage with the aircraft having just a spine of some sort to hold cockpit, wings and tail, with the pod/s clipping to that spine.
OK, so I didn't sleep well. This is what happens with my brain in the middle of the night. I don't know where this one came from, as I have no interest in aeroplanes, nor airport design, and I don't fly often these days. Anyway, if anyone wants to make billions from this, I'll take 5%, and don't forget where you heard it first..... :D
Instead of having 300 or 400 people try to squeeze up one or two narrow aisles, past people loading bags into overhead lockers, and through only one, maybe two narrow entrances, how about passengers pre-loading into seating pods in the airport terminal, which are then driven to the parked aircraft and mechanically loaded directly onto the aeroplane?
Low cost airlines make their money from flying lots of trips per day, and thus depend on fast turnaround times. Having the opportunity to land, park in a bay near the runway (rather than taxi to the terminal), have their passenger pod/s unclipped and removed, and a new one clipped in, and be ready for takeoff in minutes, would surely be something they would welcome. Passengers would surely welcome the end of the queuing in the aisle of the plane, and, particularly, the huge distances they need to walk to get to their departure gate. Airports could become more compact as aircraft no longer need to have space around a terminal building. Space is a big issue in a number of European airports.
Obviously this would need a whole new approach to aeroplane design. Fundamentally, I guess it would either mean retaining the permanent long tube outer skin of the craft, and sliding the pod/s in through the tail as in heavy transport aircraft, or the pod/s themselves would form the outer skin of the fuselage with the aircraft having just a spine of some sort to hold cockpit, wings and tail, with the pod/s clipping to that spine.
OK, so I didn't sleep well. This is what happens with my brain in the middle of the night. I don't know where this one came from, as I have no interest in aeroplanes, nor airport design, and I don't fly often these days. Anyway, if anyone wants to make billions from this, I'll take 5%, and don't forget where you heard it first..... :D
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