Advanced passenger movement model depending on the aircraft cabin geometry

Abstract

The aircraft cabin and boarding procedures are steadily increasing focus points for both aircraft manufacturers and airlines, as they play a key part in the customer experience. In the German research project AVACON (AdVAnced Aircraft CONcepts), the boarding procedure is assessed using the PAXelerate boarding simulation. As the project demands an increased level of detail concerning the passenger movement model, this publication introduces an improved methodology. Additions to the model include the development of a method capable of describing the passenger walking speed in dependence of the surrounding objects, their proximity as well as the location of other passengers within the cabin. The validation of the model is performed using the AVACON research baseline and an Airbus A320. The model is then applied to an altered version of the Airbus A320 with an extended aisle and to a COVID-19 safe distance scenario. Regarding the results, an extended aisle width delivers boarding times reduced by up to 3%, whereas the COVID-19 assessment delivers a 67% increase in boarding times. Concluding, the integration of the newly developed model empowers PAXelerate to simulate a more detailed boarding process and enables a better understanding of the influence of cabin layout changes to an aircraft’s boarding performance.