The Airbus A380 is already the largest passenger plane in the world, holding around 550 passengers in its typical configuration, but Airbus says it can make this “superjumbo” jet even more jumbo by reconfiguring it to squeeze in another 80 seats. [More]
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Airbus CEO: Flying Car Prototype Will Be In The Air By The End Of The Year
By 1.16.17
Ever since TV viewers first met George Jetson (his boy Elroy; daughter Judy; Jane, his wife) we’ve been fantasizing about zooming around in our very own personal flying cars. While many companies have made strides in that general direction, we have yet to see a true Jetsonian vehicle. Now, Airbus’ CEO thinks he can bring us even closer to our dreams: he expects the company to complete a self-piloted flying car prototype by the end of the year. [More]
Airbus Patents Adjustable Seats For People Of Every Size, In-Seat Storage That Eliminates All Legroom
By 2.17.16
Airbus — the company that patented the concept of stacking passengers on top of each other in a crowded tube flying at hundreds of miles per hour thousands of feet above the ground — has recently applied for a pair of airplane seat patents that simultaneously look to increase customer comfort while stripping away what little room remains. [More]
Need A Ride? Soon You Can Hail A Helicopter With Uber
By 1.18.16
Hate dealing with traffic, and have a big chunk of money just burning up in your pocket? You’ll soon be able to summon a helicopter ride using Uber, as part of partnership between the ride-hailing company and aircraft manufacturer Airbus. [More]
Lawmaker Questions Airlines, Plane Manufacturers On Cybersecurity Measures
By 12.2.15
Eight months after a government report found that airplanes with WiFi connections may be vulnerable to cyber attacks and seven months after a hacker claimed to have commandeered a United Airlines flight via the plane’s in-flight entertainment system, one lawmaker wants to know just what airlines are doing to protect their computer systems — and passengers. [More]
Unintentionally Hilarious Airbus Patent Suggests Stacking Passengers On Top Of Each Other
By 10.6.15
Sick of fighting over the armrest on a flight? Or maybe your knees ache at the mere thought of squeezing into an airplane seat? While some patents seek to address those issues with clever design, a recently filed Airbus patent intends to cram more passengers into a plane by simply stacking them on top of each other. [More]
Proposed Hypersonic Plane From Airbus: Paris To Tokyo In 3 Hours (Instead Of 12)
By 8.4.15
Because we can not yet bend time and space to our will, time is valuable. Which is why travelers might like to save that important resource and spend much less time on the plane than they do now. Airbus may make that a reality with its idea for a hypersonic plane. [More]
Airbus Finds New And Exciting Ways To Cram More Passengers In Its Planes
By 1.13.15
An Airbus A350-1000 normally fits 369 passengers, but airlines wanted to know: would it be possible to reconfigure the seats and cram a few more people in there? At a press meeting today, the company announced airlines will be able to fit about twenty more passengers in each of its most popular models by the end of this decade. [More]
Airbus Seeking Patent For Bicycle Seats In Plane Cabins Because Flying Isn’t Uncomfortable Enough Already
By 7.14.14
While you’re fighting for territory on the arm rest and suffering the kicks, nudges and otherwise annoying seat disturbances that come with flying commercial airlines, just think… it could be worse. How much worse? Like perching on a bicycle seat worse. [More]
Airbus: Pilots Don’t Need Windows In Cockpit, Or Even A Cockpit
By 7.3.14
All those windows in the cockpit of your jumbo jet? They’re expensive to maintain and just slow the plane down, but they’re necessary for the whole “seeing” thing. The folks at Airbus disagree. [More]
Airbus Asks Airlines To Please Stop It With The Super-Narrow Seats
By 11.4.13
Shaving just a few inches off an airplane seat’s dimensions can make room for additional seats on the aircraft, but what do narrower seats do to passengers’ ability to relax during longer flights? The folks at French jet-maker Airbus say wider seats can result in more well-rested passengers. [More]
Pilots Who Nap Together Should Not Be Responsible For Flying A Plane Together
By 9.26.13
Here’s some simple, scary math: If you have two pilots flying an Airbus passenger plane going at a speed of X miles per hour, how many pilots are flying the plane when both are asleep? The answer is: Zero pilots. No pilots were flying a UK-operated aircraft on an August flight when the two pilots fell asleep at the same time. Unless you count auto-pilot, which… Yeah, not a good scenario. [More]
Airbus Working On Wider Aisle Seats That Will Cost More
By 5.25.12
Airline passengers have proven they are willing to pay for minor luxuries like legroom and early boarding, and airlines have proven their willingness to collect those fees. Thus, the folks at Airbus are working on a seating arrangement that would give some people wider seats and allow the carriers to make some more cash. [More]
Airbus Finds More Cracks In Plane Wings But Assures Travelers They're Safe To Fly
By 1.19.12
After cracks were reported two weeks ago in the wings of Airbus’ A380 superjumbo planes, the company is assuring customers that the 525-seat double-decker behemoths are safe to fly. These models have been in the air for four years. [More]
Two Airlines Ground Airbus A380s After Qantas Engine Explosion
By 11.4.10
After what Australian airline Qantas calls a “significant engine failure” during a flight from Singapore to Sydney, both it and Singapore Airlines have temporarily grounded their fleets of Airbus A380 jumbo jets. [More]
Cell Phones Infest Airplanes By 2008
By 11.1.06
Watch out whoever owns those ridiculously expensive in-flight phones…Almost half of all airlines plan to offer in-flight mobile phone connectivity for passengers by the end of 2008.
Photograph of Airbus Human Steerage
By 5.3.06
You might remember Airbus passionately denying that they intend on introducing standing room only human steerage cattle cars into their airplanes.
