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BERLIN—The improvements cabin equipment suppliers have been studying for passenger safety and comfort may ultimately reduce the required number of flight attendants, Diehl Aerospace CEO Florian Maier said June 10. Diehl Aerospace, a joint venture between Diehl Aviation and Thales, is working on the enabling technologies.
While the idea of authorizing single-pilot operations in cruise flight—effectively cutting the number of pilots on long-haul flights—has lost traction, reducing the size of the cabin crew may cut costs for operators. The change would be less visible; however, civil aviation authorities would still need to approve it.
Connected cabin systems may enable faster boarding and a better passenger experience in general. During the boarding phase, lights at the bottom of the baggage bins could indicate whether a bin has space available, making it easier for passengers to find space for their bags and easing the usual clogging melee. Then, the inflight entertainment system could include a menu and ordering feature, where the passenger could request coffee instead of calling the attendant and placing the order, Maier said. Passengers could also see more clearly, on their seatback display, whether the lavatory is free.
As for safety, connected safety belts could replace the current process before takeoff, where flight attendants walk along the aisle and visually check every passenger has their belt fastened. With the lower workload for the cabin crew, especially in safety, a smaller cabin crew may suffice on long-haul flights, Maier said. Crews will have access to more information, faster and will be able to anticipate tasks and problem solving. Reducing the required number of flight attendants would involve certification bodies, such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Maier added.
Future aircraft will rely on a digital backbone, which may be the enabler. Using more powerful data concentrators to process inputs from multiple sensors, dissimilar redundancy and an open architecture, the system may host functions for crews, Maier said. The aircraft’s backbone, on the cabin side, would provide a fast network and the possibility for passengers to connect their devices. It would make it possible to add features with software upgrades without a hardware change, Maier said.
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