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An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. At cruising altitudes of modern commercial aircraft the surrounding atmosphere is too thin for passengers and crew to breathe without an oxygen mask, so cabins are pressurized at a higher pressure than ambient pressure at altitude.

In commercial air travel, particularly in airliners, cabins may be divided into several parts. These can include travel class sections in medium and large aircraft, areas for flight attendants, the galley and storage for in-flight service. Seats are mostly arranged in rows and alleys. The higher the travel class, the more space is provided. Cabins of the different travel classes are often divided by curtains, sometimes called class dividers though some airlines will not utilize a curtain between Business and First class. Passengers are not usually allowed to visit higher travel class cabins in commercial flights.

Some aircraft cabins contain passenger entertainment systems. Short haul cabins tend to have no or shared screens whereas long haul flights often contain personal screens which allow passengers to choose what to watch on their personal screen.

Aircraft Cabin
The aircraft cabin is typically the largest section of the airplane as it is used to contain the passengers or cargo. The majority of the passengers enter the aircraft cabin from the front while the cargo are loaded in-between the front and the middle of the cabin and then evenly distributed to balance the weight. Most airlines provide premium paying passengers the benefit of early boarding, extra space for carry-ons and the ability to be the first to exit the cabin upon arrival. Commercial aircraft seating is typically very congested and packed in order to optimize the cabin space and accommodate the largest number of passengers possible while business and general aviation airplanes are more focused on comfort and service.

Aircraft cabin (pre-1938)
Early aviation cabin designs were typically designed around the pilots to see landmarks like railroads, telegraph wires, lakes and rivers for navigation. Over time, aircraft manufactures developed an enclosed flight deck to allow greater comfort for the passengers and crew since passengers were not the main focus in early aviation as the designers were more focused on the ability to carry mail and cargo. Towards the end of the 1930s, updated aircraft design began to take shape similar to today’s modern aircraft with storage for cargo underneath the passenger seating areas in the main cabin.

Aircraft cabin (1938-Modern)
In 1938, Boeing released the Boeing 307 Stratoliner which was the first successful passenger airliner with a pressurized cabin. The pressurization of the cabin allowed the aircraft to fly at higher altitudes, at higher speeds and with improved fuel efficiency. Planes were initially unable to fly at the higher altitudes since the effect from the lack of oxygen to the brain cause blood saturation and the people in the plane would lose conciseness within a few minutes above altitudes of 15,000 feet. By pressurizing the cabin it simulates the comfort of being at lower altitudes which allows the passengers and crew to breathe and function normally. The first two airlines to order the Boeing 307 Stratoliner with pressurized cabins were Pan Am and the Trans World Airlines (TWA).

Aircraft cabin (future)
Both Airbus and Boeing are looking towards future aircraft in order to increase efficiency and comfort of the aircraft. One of Boeing’s concept aircraft is the X-48 which is a “blended wing body” design which would carry passengers and cargo inside the wing in order to decrease the amount of “waste lift” the aircraft produce. Airbus does not envision a redesign of the conventional aircraft and has mostly focused on increasing passenger comfort by incorporating exercise facilities, offices, private cabins and open bar areas into their future aircraft concepts.

Aircraft Cabin Pressurization
See also: Cabin Pressurization Most modern airliners are pressurized to allow them to cruise at high altitudes during flights. The pressurization compresses the air to allow the feeling of being in a 7,000 feet altitude which is the current lowest pressurization by commercial airliners held by the Boeing 787. In addition, some business jets, for example the Emivest SJ30, can pressurize their cabin to sea level.

Components
Each aircraft equips the cabin with various arrangements of major parts such seating sections, galleys, cockpit, and the lavatories.

Main Cabin
The main cabin is where passengers or cargo is normally held. Most modern aircraft are designed for either just cargo or passengers. The main cabin is where all other parts of the plane can be accessed like the cockpit, galley, and lavatory or other various areas of the aircraft.

Passenger Cabin
Passenger cabins are designed to primarily carry people with small volume of cargo beneath the floor of the main cabin. Most major airlines provide passengers a choice of which class to travel from Economy to First class. Most airlines design the cabin with the majority of the seats dedicated to economy to allow largest amount of passengers inside the aircraft to optimize revenue per flight, while some aircraft are designed to offer a single class only on the same flight. In order to accommodate greater flexibility for the airlines, the seats are installed on rails so seats can easily be added, removed or swapped with the change in customer demand.

Cargo
Cargo planes are typically designed for carrying cargo only and have installed special rollers on the floor and walls along with large cargo doors in the aircraft cabin to allow for easy movement, unloading and loading of cargo containers in addition to fuselage configuration and pressurization optimized for its tasks. Due to several emergency landings and fatal accidents with aircrafts designed for both cargo and passengers, very few aircraft cabins are designed to be used for both anymore.

Galley
The majority of commercial aircraft flying today has a galley which can serve anything from drinks to a 5-course meal depending on the flight duration and the class of travel. Many airlines provide free beverage service during the flight; however, this traditional service has decreased in recent years. Aircraft typically install the main galley in the back of the aircraft cabin which is used to prepare most of the warm or full course meals while the smaller galleys are in the middle or front and typically contain beverages only. The smaller galleys may also be dedicated to a section of the cabin or to an individual class of service, for example, a small galley is often dedicated to serving Business or First class only.

Lavatories
All modern aircraft have one or more lavatories. One unique design is the Airbus A340 which utilizes the lower area, down one flight of stairs next to the cargo area, for both galleys and lavatories. Some of the newest aircraft, such as the long-range, wide-body aircraft like the Airbus 380 and Boeing 777-300, now includes showers for First Class passengers to allow premium passengers to freshen up before arrival.

Flight Deck or Cockpit
The flight deck is normally on the same level as the passengers and allows the pilots to operate, program and display all the flight data for the aircraft. After the events on 9/11/2001, the flight deck requires a special security door and can only be opened during flight under certain conditions to prevent similar hijackings.

Crew Rest Area
On the new long range aircraft which may fly up to 18 hours on a single flight, the crew and pilots are only allowed to work a certain number of hours before they are required to rest. Therefore, the aircraft cabin is now designed with a crew rest area which allows the crew their own personal area to relax and energize for their next portion of the flight. These crew compartments contain multiple beds and are sometimes hidden in the tail of the cabin and sometimes only accessed by a ladder, however, in the Airbus A380, the crew rest area is underneath the main cabin.