Air Canada’s latest planes will quickly have an all-new look on board.
The Montreal-based airline introduced plans Tuesday to launch an all-new cabin look subsequent yr, that includes new temper lighting, extra-large overhead bins and an total refreshed “vibe.”
The brand new design will debut on its Airbus A220 jets, the Canadian flag provider stated at a information convention hosted by Airbus in Hamburg, Germany.
Passengers will begin seeing the brand new interiors in 2026.
It will not simply be a milestone for Air Canada: The cabin refresh will mark the debut of Airbus’ “Airspace” cabin on the A220.
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Identified for its elaborate lighting panels, ethereal and spacious cabin layouts, and a bunch of up to date, extra sensible options, the Airspace cabin already flies on a variety of airways on different forms of planes. However this would be the first time the planemaker’s Airspace design will make its manner onto the A220 — an plane that first entered Air Canada’s fleet simply over 5 years in the past, in late 2019.
Bigger overhead bins
For Air Canada passengers, probably the most tangible improve would be the bigger overhead bins.
They’re going to be 20% larger, the provider stated — room sufficient for as much as 19 extra baggage. That is no small feat on a aircraft that seats as much as 137 passengers.
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These bins also needs to be simpler to shut, latching on the backside and hinging upward, as I noticed when touring a mock-up of Airbus’ design Tuesday at Plane Interiors Expo, a significant trade conference in Hamburg.
These bins must be simpler and sooner for passengers (to not point out flight attendants) to close as valuable seconds tick away forward of departure.
Plus, the up to date A220s will assist usher in two enhancements Air Canada beforehand introduced: quick, free onboard Wi-Fi for Aeroplan members and spiffy new 4K seatback screens made by Panasonic, which I bought a have a look at (beneath) final yr.
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An total refresh — for the A220 and past
However the refreshed aesthetic must be a pleasant enchancment, too. Air France is looking it the “Glowing Hearted” design.
“The cabin is quite a bit hotter than it has been up to now, and that’s on goal,” John Moody, Managing Director of Onboard Product, stated at a information convention Tuesday. “What we need to ship is that type of heat character, heat caring, that Canadians are recognized for.”
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Count on that heat to point out up on extra than simply the A220, too. The design Air Canada unveiled with the French planemaker Tuesday ought to “begin flowing” throughout different Air Canada plane varieties, Moody stated.
Whereas he could not say for positive, we should always word — as a result of he did — that the airline has dozens of long-range Airbus A321XLRs on order. This new plane variant has impressed a variety of carriers, from American Airways to Iberia, to roll out new kinds and premium seat varieties.
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“Consider that as a deep tease,” Moody stated of Air Canada’s plans. “We now have the XLRs coming. We now have different plane varieties coming that will likely be introducing new merchandise, keep tuned.”
Backside line
Air Canada at present has 35 A220s in its fleet, which fly on a variety of routes throughout North America. The brand new Airspace cabin will debut with the arrival of its forty third A220, the airline stated. That is at present slated for supply in March of 2026.
The airline doesn’t plan, as of now, to retrofit its present A220s with the brand new product.
Air Canada’s A220s function 12 premium recliners in its North America enterprise class. It has 125 seats in the primary cabin organized within the A220’s signature 2-by-3 configuration.
The airline’s announcement Tuesday got here because it (like opponents) has been chopping flights to and from the U.S. amid plummeting bookings from Canada-based passengers.
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