The Boeing 777-300ER’s Unique Cabin Design That Has Allowed Airlines To Generate More Revenue

As any pilot or flight attendant will be able to confirm, commercial jetliners have many designated nooks and crannies that are not accessible to the public, and passengers may fly many times without ever seeing them. Such spaces are often used for maintenance access and storage of useful items, but some larger spaces are specifically for the flight crew to use, typically containing bunks for them to relax and recharge in shifts.

In the case of the Boeing 777-300ER, one of the world’s leading long-haul commercial jetliners, the manufacturer offers overhead crew and attendant rest areas in the fuselage crown above the passenger cabin as an optional feature, allowing airlines to include more passenger and cargo space, increasing the potential for customer revenue per flight. This article takes a closer look at this overhead rest area and the benefits it provides.

Where Are The Overhead Rest Areas Located?

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While most airplanes offer crew rest areas either in the passenger cabin or in the cargo compartment, Boeing provides the option for airlines to increase revenue-generating opportunities by building the crew rest area above the passenger cabin. According to Boeing, moving the crew and attendant quarters off the main deck can create space for as many as four to seven revenue passenger seats, or room for up to six LD-3 containers, half-width lower deck containers used in widebody aircraft for transporting cargo, luggage, and packages.

According to Cathay Pacific, an airline that flies 777-300ERs with this option from the manufacturer, the secret rest area is hidden above the back section of the economy cabin, pictured above. Behind a door made to look like a toilet entrance, lies a set of stairs, which leads up to a humble space where the cabin crew sleep. Within, there are eight bunks arranged in two rows of four, with a small aisle in between. Cubicles are separated by partition walls, and curtains block the view to the aisle.

According to Yahoo Life, the pilots also have a rest area designed for two people, located behind the cockpit and above the first-class area. The area contains two seats with seat belts, along with two bunks, arranged side by side and separated by a partition wall. These bunks are accessible from the bottom, where a curtain can be closed. In the case of Air New Zealand, the entrances to both pilot and flight attendant crew rest areas are designed to blend in with the galleys and require a pass code to open.

How The Crew Uses The Rest Areas

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When onboard commercial jetliners, the flight crew might be on a shift for a long time, particularly if taking multiple flights, or a long-haul flight that takes many hours from the point of origin to destination. Legally, they are required to take breaks during that time in addition to days off. According to Cathay Pacific, crew require a minimum of three hours of rest when the flight duty period exceeds 14 hours, and when flight duty periods are 18 hours or more, four and a half hours of bunk rest is required. This is measured from when the crew ‘signs on’ to 15 minutes after the engines are turned off.

Usually, these breaks are used for sleeping, as sleep can be a precious thing on such a long shift. The crew takes turns for rest breaks, with the first group retiring after the first meal service. According to Cathay Pacific’s Inflight Services Manager, Roy Lai, the second shift tends to be most desirable:

“Usually cabin crew prefer to be in the second group. […] After two meal services the second group of crew are tired, so it can be easier to sleep.”

According to Inflight Services Manager, Steven Lui, the rest areas are strictly no-noise zones, and crew are not permitted to use alarm clocks to wake themselves, relying on phone alarms set to vibrate only. As the bunks are in such close proximity, waking up is generally not an issue, and the crew will wake each other when the rest period is ending:

“Even when you tear the plastic open on the bedding, you have to be careful and quick. We can’t use an alarm clock either. […] The first person will wake up and the others will follow, like a wake-up call. Then it’s time to roll up the blankets and be ready to serve our passengers once again.”

Amenities In The Crew Rest Areas

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Going into a little more detail on what it is like to be in these rest areas, particularly on the Air New Zealand 777-300ER mentioned in the Yahoo Life tour mentioned earlier, after the code has been punched in, the stairs lead upwards to the rest area. These stairs are coated in non-slip tread to help the crew climb the steep incline. However, obvious similarities between the pilots’ and flight attendants’ rest areas end here, as the most noticeable thing is the increased amount of space per occupant in the pilots’ rest area.

Various storage cupboards and closets are present in many places in the stairwells and in the space itself. Other amenities in the flight attendants’ rest area include a mirror and extra storage near the entrance, along with storage pouches that hang from the walls. Each cubicle is furnished with a small mattress, blankets, and pillows. According to Cathay Pacific, the cubicles vary in size, and the unwritten rule is that more experienced attendants get to claim the larger ones.

The pilots’ rest area has a little more to offer, and stationed near each of the two recliner seats are TVs, similar to the ones provided for customers in business class. There are also multiple cup-holders and overhead storage near the pilots’ beds. In each cubicle, whether in the pilots’ or attendants’ area, occupants can control the lighting and temperature via wall controls and overhead cubicle lights, increasing comfort, which is important for the crew on long-haul flights. Phones are also stationed in both rest areas, so pilots and flight attendants can communicate with colleagues.

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Both in the comments section of the Yahoo piece and in a Reddit thread, passengers and industry boffins provided some interesting opinions in response to the secretive 777-300ER’s overhead crew rest area being revealed. One common sentiment was that it was unfair that the pilots’ rest area featured more space and amenities per person, but many rallied to defend the design decision as pilots have a much more complicated job, and have the crew and passengers’ lives in their hands when on duty:

“The pilots need to be near the flight deck for quick access, and the pilots must be ready in split seconds when needed. Space is tight, so more space for flight attendants mean less revenues per flight because they can carry less passengers, not to mention passengers are already complaining about paying high prices for their tickets. [Pilots’ jobs] are a lot more stressful than flight attendants during crucial times.”

Some also wondered why the pilots’ rest area features amenities suitable for two people, when the cockpit crew typically consists of only two people: the pilot and co-pilot. Those in the know shed light on this, explaining that long-haul flights tend to have two teams of pilots, one for cruise and one for takeoff and landing. After the takeoff team takes off and gets the plane to cruise altitude, they go to bed, leaving the plane to the other team, waking up when the time for descent comes around.

One curiosity among Reddit comments was why airlines do not convert such spaces into passenger bed areas, opening up another class for passengers and utilizing more space in the plane for a ‘bed class’:

“I’ve long wondered, since the space is there, why no-one had added another rest area and monetized it. I’m sure plenty of people would be happy to pay for a proper bed, even if you can’t quite stand up straight getting in and out of it, without the rest of the first-class amenities. Sounds like easy extra money.”

However, there were good reasons presented as to why this is not a thing, the most obvious being that, according to regulations, crew rest areas cannot be inhabited during taxi, takeoff, and landing for safety reasons. Furthermore, the addition of things passengers might use when inhabiting these rest areas, such as seat belts and windows, would add considerable weight to the plane.

Overhead Rest Areas Are Lucrative

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The option for overhead crew rest areas offered by Boeing is an attractive one for airlines, as by moving pilots’ and attendants’ rest areas off the main deck, much more space can be used for passenger capacity. As the passenger aviation industry is one in which much of the money gained through sales is lost through expenses, the four to seven seats this option frees up can increase the profit margin of a flight significantly.

Earlier this year, Middle-Eastern airlines were making an average profit per passenger of $23.90, which is big bucks as far as the passenger aviation industry is concerned. If this figure is multiplied by seven, the maximum number of seats added by adopting the option translates to an additional $167.30 per flight. Given the huge number of flights an aircraft might undergo during its career, this little bit of potential earnings can go a long way.