Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

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Hanneke Weitering

Natilus has revealed the interior design for its Horizon blended-wing-body (BWB) airliner, a 200-seat aircraft that the company says could compete with the popular Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo families of narrowbodies in the early 2030s. Thanks to its highly aerodynamic BWB airframe, the Horizon aircraft burns 25% less fuel and can reduce operating costs by half, Natilus claims.
With about the same wingspan as a 737 or A321, the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-10-23/natilus-reveals-plan-200-seat-blended-wing-body-airliner">Horizon aircraft</a> boasts 40% more room inside the cabin. Natilus takes advantage of this extra space by improving passenger comfort with larger seats and double-wide armrests. Airlines can also customize their cabins with unique premium features, including video conference pods for business travelers and “deluxe” club-style seating for families.
San Diego-based Natilus collaborated with ACLA Studio, a design firm in Los Angeles, to create an interior that enhances the passenger experience and opens doors to new revenue streams for airlines, Natilus CEO and co-founder Aleksey Matyushev told AIN. He said Natilus’ airline customers—which the company has not yet disclosed—have expressed interest in a “business center” consisting of three private video conference pods in the back of the aircraft. Passengers would pay to reserve time inside the pods.&nbsp;

Airlines will be able to customize the cabin configuration with various combinations of economy, premium economy, and business class seats. With 20-inch-wide seats in a 3-3-3-3 configuration in economy class, there isn’t enough room for budget carriers to add more seats to each row, Matyushev explained.&nbsp;
Natilus’ proposed layout of passenger accommodations (LOPA) for high-density configurations features nine rows of economy seats with a 31-inch pitch and five rows of first-class seats with a 38-inch pitch. In the middle of the aircraft are either four sets of four club-style family seats or four rows of 34-inch-pitch premium economy seats.
One drawback of the blended-wing design is that a vast majority of passengers will have no windows in sight. In the Horizon LOPA, only the first five rows of first-class seats have windows. To make up for the lack of windows in the rest of the cabin, Natilus is equipping the Horizon with an intelligent lighting system that can coordinate with in-flight entertainment display screens to simulate the outside world.&nbsp;

The Horizon aircraft, Natilus’ flagship product, will be a larger follow-on to the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-02-04/canadian-airline-nolinor-orders-autonomous-freighters">Kona cargo freighter</a> that the company plans to certify by 2028. Natilus is currently building the first full-scale prototype of the Kona BWB aircraft and aims to begin flight testing in 2026. The company has not yet disclosed its customers or the amount of capital it has raised, but it claims to hold a backlog of orders for 580 aircraft, worth a total of up to $23 billion.
Natilus is not the only BWB airframer seeking to disrupt the Boeing-Airbus duopoly. Last month JetZero, another California-based aircraft developer, <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-06-16/jetzeros-blended-wing-body-airliner-nears-critical-design">took the wraps off its plans for the Z4</a>, a 200- to 250-passenger aircraft called the Z4. Canadian business jet manufacturer Bombardier is studying a smaller Global 6000-sized BWB aircraft with its <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-05-01/bombardier-eyes-unmanned-future-ecojet-technologies">EcoJet</a> research and development program, which has already flown two subscale demonstrators.

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

Natilus Unveils Interior Design for Horizon Blended-wing-body Airliner

200-seat airliner includes club seating and privacy pods

Natilus has revealed the interior design for its 200-seat Horizon blended-wing-body (BWB) airliner.

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