FEATURE
ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE AUGUST 2007
Comfort above the clouds
By Rosemarie John
Despite various innovations to improve passenger comfort in 55 years of commercial jet aviation, very few individuals would describe any flight as truly relaxing and resulting in one feeling fresh as a daisy when disembarking at the destination airport. So, what gives with the new generation of jetliners – the Airbus A380 and Boeing Dreamliner 787 – which aim to bring passenger comfort even closer to this subjective standard by increasing cabin pressures to a hitherto-unheard of 5,000 feet altitudes?
The seasoned traveler knows all too well how daunting air travel can be. Dry, cramped conditions in an airplane make the flying experience far from comfortable and oftentimes, passengers could experience flu-like symptoms shortly after they’ve boarded the plane. The slight headaches, light-headedness, sore throats, coughing, dry lips and dry or watery eyes are in fact due to the lack of fresh air that only an aircraft cabin on modern jets can so effectively create – since BOAC inaugurated the world’s first commercial jet service on 2 May 1952. Such environmental conditions are due to the airplane’s cabin being pressurized at current international requirements set for
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an altitude of 8,000 feet – resulting in passengers breathing in roughly 25% less oxygen compared to sea levels. The culprit here is an increased level of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, exacerbated by conditions of limited air supplies shared by too many people. Such an artificially-created altitude pressure in aircraft cabins also results in passengers feeling dried out at the end of a long airplane flight due to the lower humidity levels. The new passenger jets coming onstream in the next few months promise to drastically reduce this discomfort by keeping cabin pressures at altitudes ranging between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. These altitudes are
more reminiscent of an elegant resort rather than a lofty mountain spire. But is there a real difference the passenger can look forward to in terms of comfort levels?
Comfort issues
The complex interplay between three main factors – oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity levels – that affect passenger comfort is the guideline used in the setting of cabin altitudes. Starting with oxygen, its air composition ration remains at roughly 21% regardless of altitude. However, as overall air pressure drops with increasing altitudes, the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. Hence, to properly oxygenate the body,
飞行翻译公司 www.aviation.cn 本文链接地址：Comfort above the clouds.pdf
ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE AUGUST 2007
Comfort above the clouds
By Rosemarie John
Despite various innovations to improve passenger comfort in 55 years of commercial jet aviation, very few individuals would describe any flight as truly relaxing and resulting in one feeling fresh as a daisy when disembarking at the destination airport. So, what gives with the new generation of jetliners – the Airbus A380 and Boeing Dreamliner 787 – which aim to bring passenger comfort even closer to this subjective standard by increasing cabin pressures to a hitherto-unheard of 5,000 feet altitudes?
The seasoned traveler knows all too well how daunting air travel can be. Dry, cramped conditions in an airplane make the flying experience far from comfortable and oftentimes, passengers could experience flu-like symptoms shortly after they’ve boarded the plane. The slight headaches, light-headedness, sore throats, coughing, dry lips and dry or watery eyes are in fact due to the lack of fresh air that only an aircraft cabin on modern jets can so effectively create – since BOAC inaugurated the world’s first commercial jet service on 2 May 1952. Such environmental conditions are due to the airplane’s cabin being pressurized at current international requirements set for
14
an altitude of 8,000 feet – resulting in passengers breathing in roughly 25% less oxygen compared to sea levels. The culprit here is an increased level of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, exacerbated by conditions of limited air supplies shared by too many people. Such an artificially-created altitude pressure in aircraft cabins also results in passengers feeling dried out at the end of a long airplane flight due to the lower humidity levels. The new passenger jets coming onstream in the next few months promise to drastically reduce this discomfort by keeping cabin pressures at altitudes ranging between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. These altitudes are
more reminiscent of an elegant resort rather than a lofty mountain spire. But is there a real difference the passenger can look forward to in terms of comfort levels?
Comfort issues
The complex interplay between three main factors – oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity levels – that affect passenger comfort is the guideline used in the setting of cabin altitudes. Starting with oxygen, its air composition ration remains at roughly 21% regardless of altitude. However, as overall air pressure drops with increasing altitudes, the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. Hence, to properly oxygenate the body,
飞行翻译公司 www.aviation.cn 本文链接地址：Comfort above the clouds.pdf
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