Handout Boeing
Some of the best seats on modern airplanes are priceless – and also invisible: they are reserved for flight crew.
Apart from 1st class, there is often only one place on board long-haul aircraft with an even larger sleeping area: the so-called Crew Rest Compartments. After all, the flight crew should be able to rest here after a strenuous mission.
The areas are therefore generously dimensioned. Nevertheless, very few passengers have ever looked into this area.
Especially in newer aircraft types, such as a Boeing 777 or an Airbus A380, the rest areas are now located in the upper fuselage of the cabin. In the past, they were usually only separated from the passenger area by curtains in the cabin, or were located in the cargo hold.
Handout Boeing
Airlines, but also the supervisory authorities, now have an important say in what the working environment for the cabin crew should look like, reported the news channel CNN. The progress in comfort on board is therefore not only noticeable for the passengers.
«You can be very comfortable»
According to US standards, the Crew Rest Compartments are now in a place “where disturbing noises, smells and vibrations impair sleep as little as possible”. In addition, the seats would have to “enable a flat sleeping position” and have at least an area of 198 by 76 centimeters.
“They can be very comfortable,” United Airlines flight attendant Susannah Carr told CNN. Rest areas tended to have a well-cushioned mattress, ventilation, and individual temperature control. “We also get bed linen, as used in business class on long-haul routes.”
Handout Qantas
In some cases, the space available in the berths is sometimes even larger than in 1st class, says Carr. But you don’t necessarily have full headroom, and also little privacy from your colleagues. The area is probably nothing for people with claustrophobia.
The passengers do not notice the rest areas
However, the areas would not be noticed by the passengers on board. Access is specially designed so that it is not recognizable as such. It is similar to the doors to the cupboards for storing various utensils on board. Also, passengers could not easily enter the areas, Carr explains. They are specially secured.
Of course, confusion still occurs: “Sometimes we have passengers who think it’s a door to the toilet. They then try to get in, »says Carr from his own experience. In these cases, the passengers are of course shown the right way.
Anyone who ever strays into one of the secret chambers will be amazed at the unusual perspectives for an aircraft: Accessibility, as is otherwise the case on board, does not apply here: In the newer aircraft, there is often a small rest area directly behind the door Unit volume. A ladder then leads up to the bunks.
Although these are full-fledged beds, which are often sorely missed on an airplane, they usually exude little luxury: “I jokingly call them the catacombs,” says Carr.
Handout Qantas