Paneless Flying – Aircraft Without Windows – Is This Our Future?

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) offers a glimpse into what could be the future of commercial air travel … The Windowless Airplane.

We all know how annoying it can be trying to peek over someone’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of the outside world through that tiny little scratched up airplane window as you taxi down the runway and glide into the air, but is this really a solution everyone will enjoy? Possibly not, but you have to admit CPI’s concept is pretty intriguing:

“Imagine a cabin where the windows are display screens, relaying a choice of views from around the aircraft. If you’re not sitting in a window seat, your large seat-back display becomes your window on the world as well as a source of entertainment.

Supplement this with subtle cabin lighting from gently glowing walls and you create a unique travel environment. Screens that are ultra thin, very light and highly flexible are integrated with the fuselage or the seat backs with no unsightly, clumsy or heavy housings.”

The CPI estimates that within 10 years the air-travel industry will be ready to offer passengers an all-new visual experience as they cast aside those small, fogged-up plastic windows for the weight saving OLED displays (organic light-emitting diodes) – the same technology used in ultra-thin, high-end televisions. Seems like a crazy idea to think about employing this kind of pricey technology, but CPI claims the technology necessary to manufacture the displays for the same price as current displays is just five years away.

If you consider what CPI has to say about the economics of it all, this is a logical next step – it’s not just about improving passenger amenities, but about savings … saving weight, fuel, money and reducing our carbon footprint.

“Less Weight More Savings – Weight is a constant issue on any aircraft. Over 80% of the fully laden weight of a commercial airliner is the aircraft itself and its fuel. For every 1% reduction in weight, the approximate fuel saving is 0.75%. If you save weight, you save fuel. And less fuel means less CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere and lower operational cost… everyone wins.”

Read more about The Windowless Fuselage on the Centre for Process Innovation website.

About TravelBloggers.ca
Iain Shankland & Gail Shankland started blogging in order to inspire and motivate people to travel the world from their perspective – specializing in having the most fun while using the least amount of money, travelling on the cheap without sacrificing comfort.

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