The European aircraft giant Airbus has announced plans for sleeping facilities for passengers in the cargo hold of planes that could be operating in A330 wide-body jets from 2020.

The sleeper compartments “would fit inside the aircraft’s cargo compartment”, said Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace, which is a subsidiary of the French aerospace company Safran.

The modules “will be easily interchangeable with regular cargo containers”.

“Airlines will initially be able to choose from a catalogue of certified solutions by 2020 on A330” for the sleeper pods. The possibility of fitting them into A350 XWB airliners is also being looked at.

Airbus and Zodiac said the sleeping berths would not only improve passenger comfort but would let airlines add value for their commercial operations.

“This approach to commercial air travel is a step change towards passenger comfort,” said Geoff Pinner, the head of Airbus’s cabin and cargo program.

“We have already received very positive feedback from several airlines on our first mock-ups.”

Christophe Bernardini, head of Zodiac’s aerospace cabin division, said the project “reaffirms our expertise in lower-deck solutions. An improved passenger experience is today a key element of differentiation for airlines.”

In November 2016 Air France-KLM had put forward the idea of sleeping berths for passengers in economy class, either in the hold or above the cabin in aircraft of the group’s new low-cost subsidiary, Joon.