The crew compartment, which was located at the very front of the aircraft, was fully enclosed, then a relatively new and uncommon feature, and there were two separate passenger cabins, one positioned forward, and the other aft, of the wings. The H.P.42E carried six (later 12) in the forward compartment and twelve in the aft. There was also substantial space allocated for storing baggage. The improved H.P.42W variant seated 18 passengers forward and 20 aft, albeit at the cost of a reduced baggage capacity over the preceding model. The cabins featured a high degree of luxury, having been intentionally styled to resemble Pullman railway carriages akin to the Orient Express; other features intended to increase passenger comfort were a high level of spaciousness, relatively wide windows, and full onboard services. Initially, there were no seatbelts present upon any of the seating until an unrelated air accident motivated Imperial Airways to instate this feature. On the ground, passengers could both embark and egress without using steps or ladders due to the low position of both the doors and the fuselage overall.