Airbus to put beds in plane’s cargo hold

European plane-maker Airbus has announced it is to develop sleeping pods, lounges, and meeting rooms inside the cargo hold.

Airbus, the European plane-maker, are working with Zodiac Aerospace to develop sleeping berths that can be swapped out with regular cargo containers on specific flights.

The option of adding sleeping pods, lounges, and meeting rooms inside the cargo hold will be offered in A330 wide-body jets from 2020.

Airbus said the aircraft’s cargo floor loading system would not be affected as the passenger module will be designed to sit directly on top of it.

“This approach to commercial air travel is a step change towards passenger comfort,” said Geoff Pinner, the head of Airbus’s cabin and cargo program.

“We have already received very positive feedback from several airlines on our first mock-ups.”

Ultimately, it will be up to airlines to decide how much they will charge to use the cargo hold, however, Zodiac says it sees the space as an add-ons to a passenger’s ticket.