Future Of Air Travel, As Hinted In Real Patents, Gets Imagined In Renders

Over the decades since humans first took to the skies, we’ve seen air travel change in significant ways. Just recently, Qantas introduced long-haul stateroom suites with personal dining tables, while Swiss Air turned to a ‘warm minimalism’ design.

Apart from faster in-flight Wi-Fi, better-tasting meals, or a greater variety of entertainment, what else could airlines possibly offer passengers in the future? Well, if patents are to be believed, a lot could still change in the near future.

To picture the flights of tomorrow, HawaiianIslands.com chose a selection of patents filed by Boeing, British Airways, and Airbus to create renders of what future travel experiences could look like.

Fancy an airplane trip with virtual-reality (VR) seating, communal bathrooms, or autonomous in-flight service carts? These developments could be more likely than you think. Take a look at how these futuristic designs could come to life.

For example, according to patent US9302780B2, the cockpit could be moved from the front of the airplane to the back, or even into the tail. And instead of a helmet, pilots and co-pilots will find themselves in an immersive media center with OLED displays and perhaps “a device with lasers for forming a holographic image.”

A communal washroom will allow for more than one person to go at a time, saving passengers the plight of having to wait in a snaking queue in the aisles. Boeing came up with the concept, proposing one lavatory told multiple toilets and baby changing facilities so more can get done at once. 

First-class passengers could even enjoy personalized updates on their windows, such as a live feed of where the airplane is currently flying over based on precise eye-tracking technology. Airbus felt that such a feature could allow travelers to be “fascinated by the fact that they are traveling through the air and may see the earth through the cabin windows in a bird’s perspective.”

Intrigued? Read a more in-depth explanation of each design concept here. 

[via HawaiianIslands.com, images courtesy]