Airbus may put sleeping berths in cargo holds

It has long been rumoured that Airbus is once again starting to focus on freighters and cargo, at a time when Boeing appears to have lost some interest, according to some sources. But that appears to be somewhat at odds with the latest idea from Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace, which (in a time of capacity shortage) have proposed putting sleeping facilities for passengers in the belly cargo holds of widebody aircraft. Apparently they would be easily interchangeable with ULDs. They will initially be designed for the A330, but the manufacturers are also considering the A350. While there could be some appeal to low-cost carriers, it could dent cargo capacity further.