AMSTERDAM--Airbus has announced Spanish carrier Iberia will upgrade the cabins of its Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet by retrofitting it with the airframe manufacturer's recently launched airspace L bins.
The upgraded aircraft will be equipped with the new stowages at the beginning of 2025 following a short process taking around three to five days.
The airframe manufacturer first unveiled the new overhead bins earlier this year and they will be manufactured by Dresden-based EFW (Elbe Flugzeugwerke). Iberia is now the second airline customer to sign up for the L bins, which Airbus says allow vertical loading of carry-on roller bags and result in a 60% baggage capacity increase.
Airbus says the L version of the airspace bins share parts commonality with its XL bins which aims to lower spares holding costs for operators while a simplified mechanism of the bins also aims to increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs.
Retrofit demand is strong in the Airbus narrowbody segment and also extends to the OEM’s widebody segment. Sonia Dumas, head of Airbus Services marketing, told Aviation Week that the airframe manufacturer is seeing the first cycle of A350 cabin upgrades taking place and expects this to continue over the coming years.
In another announcement at MRO Europe, Airbus also confirmed Turkish Technic has become the world’s largest operator of its Airbus Competence Training (ACT) suite. The MRO operates seven ACT suite equipped classrooms in facilities at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul.
The company signed a new agreement at MRO Europe for a third A320 ACT suite, adding to previous agreements it signed for A320, A330 and A350 classrooms. The suite provides both practical and theoretical maintenance training through virtual 3D applications.
Turkish Technic aims to use the digital tool to aid the development of around 600 mechanics annually. Airbus estimates that more than 700,000 aircraft maintenance technicians and engineers will be needed by the industry over the next 15 to 20 years.
