Comfort in the Regional Aircraft Cabin: Passenger Priorities

Regional turboprop passenger aircraft are more fuel efficient than equivalent regional turbofan jets. Aerodynamic interaction between the propeller and the aircraft wing and body cause higher noise and vibration in the turboprop cabin than in jets; to improve the passenger cabin of turboprops, an improve comfort model is required to enable design optimization. Three age-stratified focus groups were conducted with the aim of eliciting passenger priorities for comfort in aircraft cabins. Participants discussed view elicited in response to images of different aircraft, and aircraft interiors. Transcriptions of the focus groups were coded using NVivo and the most common thematic areas identified for each age group. Physical comfort (space and seat design), the physical environment (noise, air quality, vibration, thermal), safety and hygiene were the most commonly coded thematic areas. The oldest group (50–70) rated the thermal environment as more important than younger groups. Turboprop aircraft were considered noisy and to be less comfortable than turbojets. However, noise and vibration were considered to be outside of the passenger’s control and therefore accepted.