The new Airbus A350 XWB jet is designed to beat jetlag
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus just created a new airplane, the A350 XWB jet, that is designed to eliminate jetlag. The A350 XWB jet was designed earlier in 2015, but the first plane to land in the U.S. courtesy of Qatar Airways arrived last week.
Airbus invested $15 billion for the research and development on the design and engineering of the jetlag free aircraft. Airbus Chief Engineer for the A350 XWB program Alain De Zotti told Fast Company that the design process of the aircraft was about optimization, pushing the constraints, and opening up the box of solutions. De Zotti's team hopes that the A350 XWB will make flying more energy efficient, aerodynamic, and comfortable.
According to Science Alert, one of the main innovations in the A350 XWB that can minimize jetlag is a system of LED lights inside the cabin that are designed to change colour to imitate the sun's natural glow. The LED lights are programmed to fit the human body's natural physiological cycle rhythm no matter what the actual time is.
The plane's filtering system is also designed to eliminate jetlag by keeping air from feeling stale. The filtering system changes over the air in the plane every two to three minutes. The cabin is pressurized to 6,000 feet which makes it more comfortable for passengers.
Besides anti-jetlag technnology, the A350 XWB also offers other innovative features. Over 50 percent of the aircraft's structure is made from carbon fiber reinforced plastic for lightweight strength and durability. The lightweight structure makes the plane to be more energy efficient.
The new A350 has an aerodynamics design with larger and wider wings. The wing's shape design was inspired by birds' wings, to reduce noise and improve performance at low speeds.
The aircraft also has an improved flaps system that follows the flight path direction to make the ride smoother. The A350 XWB sports ultra efficient Rolls Royce engines to deliver 25 percent improvement in the plane's fuel economy over comparable models from competitors.
The Airbus A350 XWB offers wider economy seats for passenger comfort. De Zotti claimed that business class in the new A350 XWB is now like first class was and first class is like little apartments.
According to Airways News, Airbus has now delivered 13 units of the A350 XWBs in 2015 to many airlines across the world including Qatar Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Finnair and TAM Airlines.
TAM Airlines is the first airline in the Americas to operate the A350 XWB jets. The airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A350 XWB last week, and will start operating the aircraft in January 2016.