Airbus is soon to bring its first A320 family Airspace cabin to the market thanks to JetBlue’s new A321 which will be flying in just a few months’ time. Airbus has just recently started flight testing of the first Airspace Single-Aisle aircraft. A second phase of in-flight testing will take place in February to validate…
Read MoreWellness areas, new First Class… Qantas reveals details of its A350 Project Sunrise Aircraft
Today saw the official approval of Qantas’ long-awaited Project Sunrise, something that was postponed a few years due to COVID. With the announcement that the airline will order 12 A350-1000 aircraft capable of flying from Sydney direct to London and New York, which will see the longest and furthest flights in the world. But that…
Read MoreHas the era of revolution ended? Long live evolution
Let’s face it, airline cabins are becoming more and more familiar, the day of being surprised when walking onboard is almost over. The era of innovation that saw all-aisle access, private suites, and fully flat beds in business class – which first blossomed some twenty years ago – has seemingly settled into a plateau that…
Read MorePikachu we see you. (Again.) Now flying on a China Airlines A321neo
Pokemon characters certainly don’t seem scared of flying, after all, there have been multiple themed aircraft from the franchise over the years. The latest – and first to grace Taiwan – can be found on China Airlines aptly named “Pikachu Jet CI”. The design is fairly complex, and took no less than 21 days to…
Read MoreAir France introduces new A220-300 as backbone of medium-haul flying
Today saw Air France take delivery of its first Airbus A220-300, the company’s most modern aircraft in the fleet on its short and medium-haul network. The airline has been on a massive fleet renewal program since introducing the Airbus A350 on its long-haul network, and by 2025 it will have integrated the 60 A220-300s ordered…
Read MoreSpecial Trip Report: Etihad’s New A350 proposition breathes fresh life into the carrier
Etihad has always been a challenger brand in the Middle East, even if it’s not the youngest of the carriers. Often shadowed by its much larger, blingier cousin Emirates, and self-styled luxury carrier Qatar Airways, Etihad has had a bigger hill to climb, either winning market share, or the hearts and wallets of this lucrative…
Read MoreChina Airlines receives first A321neo with impressive interiors
Taiwanese carrier China Airlines has just received its first A321neo passenger aircraft which heralds a new era in the airline’s narrow-body fleet. A total of 25 of these advanced Airbus aircraft will enter the fleet over the coming years, which will operate short-haul routes including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Cross-strait. The aircraft itself features…
Read MoreVirgin Atlantic New A330Neo delights with ‘better-than-Upper Class’ product and better fleet alignment
Launched today in London’s still-trendy Shoreditch, Virgin Atlantic’s new A330neo product should indeed turn heads. Launching a brand new product across a small yet nimble fleet usually means that the product offering becomes increasingly fragmented, but actually the airline has stumbled upon better synergies than ever on its Transatlantic offering. Introduced on Virgin Atlantic’s 16…
Read MoreIberia seeks to up the ante with new A350 interiors
Iberia is the first airline to take delivery of the new A350 cabins that feature ever-so-slightly wider cabins and new technologies that make the aircraft lighter and more advanced (such as greater flap settings and faster retracting landing gear), even though they look identical on the outside. However, on the inside, Iberia has opted to…
Read MoreSAS shows off new A321LR interiors
SAS has just revealed its photos of its new A321LR cabin. The transatlantic narrow body joins the carrier’s wide-body fleet in connecting the two continents, but trying to keep the same passenger experience touch-points across fundamentally different airframes was a difficult ask. While the airline sadly hasn’t been able to provide all aisle access, by…
Read MoreHoly Deckchairs Batman! Condor reveals stripey new livery and brand image
Condor revealed perhaps the bravest new livery and brand image today we’ve seen in a decade. Actively opting to shun its previous looks and celebrate its leisure market, the airline has adopted a bold new, deck chair and beach towel inspired (I kid you not) livery. No, it’s not April 1st, and we did have…
Read MoreCathay set sights on A321neo flights in August with new Business Class cabin
Cathay Pacific is about to see the commercial take-off of its latest arrival, the A321neo. With the pandemic hitting at a pivotal time for the carrier, commercially things have been bittersweet. While passenger numbers have been decimated for 18-months, the regrowth of the airline can now be expedited by the addition of a new narrow-body…
Read MoreJetBlue’s Trans-Atlantic ‘Mint’ might be turning heads, but the economy cabin isn’t half bad either
While we covered JetBlue’s fantastic new Mint product recently, the airline certainly kept our eyes at the front of the aircraft, as we thought that’s where the magic was going to happen. However, it seems when it comes to Economy Class travel, the airline has decided to firmly position itself as a challenger to the…
Read MoreCorsair receives new A330neo with brand new hard products
French leisure carrier Corsair, based in Paris Orly has just received the very first of 5 new A330neo aircraft which will modernise its fleet. Last year saw the retirement of its 747s which have now been replaced by an all Airbus A330 fleet. The airline has streamlined its network offering which once spanned the US…
Read MoreQatar Airways’ musical chair conundrum
Qatar Airways is seen as one of the ‘true’ Five Star airlines in the world and it has worked hard over the past decade to position itself as a true luxury carrier. At the heart of its recent efforts is the airline’s QSuite, a Flagship product that only a few carriers have managed to surpass…
Read MoreTrip Report: TAP Portugal A330neo Business Class December 2020
TAP Portugal is well known as one of the cheapest Star Alliance carriers, however, with the addition of its new Airbus Neo fleet, the aging business class cabin (albeit comfortable) has been given a new lease of life thanks to brand new Recaro seats.
Read MoreSWISS is latest airline to launch new cabins similar to Lufthansa’s product – but the Swiss touch changes the cabin entirely.
It may not be first to the punch, but following on Lufthansa’s coattails, Swiss has revealed its own personalised ‘SWISS Senses’ air travel experience from 2025 onwards utilising exactly the same hardware as sister carrier Lufthansa. The centrepiece of the new customer product is a redesigned cabin for the airline’s long-haul aircraft fleet, which was…
Read MoreJetBlue’s new A220 features a sleek new cabin, mirroring the carrier’s latest fleet
JetBlue has just revealed the all-new onboard experience which will soon greet customers aboard the airline’s Airbus A220-300. It is the first of no less than 70 A220’s that JetBlue has on order, that was delivered to the airline’s home at John F. Kennedy International Airport Terminal 5 in New York on New Year’s Eve.…
Read MoreSafran adds more options to the narrowbody and widebody Business Class seat catalogue
Herringbone and forward-facing staggered business class seats? The catalogue available to airlines is now seemingly never-ending, and the latest Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg this week has revealed how the industry has never been more spoiled for choice. Two of the latest entrants in to the market have come from Safran dubbed ‘VUE’ and ‘Unity’.…
Read MoreUganda Airlines proves aircraft interiors don’t just have to come in shades of blue
Uganda Airlines might not be on everyones radar. But that’s because until last week, the carrier just operated a modest fleet of four Bombardier CRJ900’s. Resurrected from its predecessor that last flew in 2001, the latest incarnation spread its wings a little over a year ago, but seemingly has big plans. With aircraft bought by…
Read MoreEmirates refreshes livery design with updated 3D paint effect
The update to a livery for an airline with a large fleet is a costly, and arduous undertaking. A dramatic shift in livery and brand can create inconsistency for years while a fleet is repainted, and too subtle a shift can be seen as folly. But sometimes the arrival of a new sub-fleet can bring…
Read MoreVistara receives new A321Neo with three cabin classes including fully-flat beds in Business Class
Vistara was one of the last airlines we covered pre-lockdown who received a brand new jet. The carrier’s 787 certainly showed this airline meant business and its latest arrival, a brand new Airbus A321neo shows Vistara is living up to its promises. The aircraft – which is part of a hefty order of 50 from…
Read MoreTen stories we loved in 2021
As 2021 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of our most popular stories on the site this year, as well a few of our own favourites too. Do let us know what were your own personal highlights too, we’d love to hear from you. Here’s to another exciting year in…
Read MoreJAL Receives First Airbus, The A350. Designed For Domestic Routes
This week saw JAL receive the first of 8 Airbus A350’s which the airline is bringing online as a workhorse of its domestic operations. The state of the aircraft is actually the first Airbus plane the airline to join the fleet, which was purely Boeing prior to the addition of this wide-body. Although Mitsubishi will…
Read MoreLufthansa launches same Premium Economy product as Swiss, creating cross-group synergies
Lufthansa has already got a competitive Premium Economy seat, however the carrier saw it time to upgrade some of its fleet. While the ZIMmagic Premium Economy product from seat manufacturer ZIM already features on much of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet, the carrier has looked to both improve its product, and match the new Swiss Premium…
Read MoreBritish Airways brings its sustainability programme to life with new Livery
British Airways has just launched ‘BA Better World’, its new sustainability programme. While many airlines have already got active sustainability programmes, the airline said this marked a further commitment to put sustainability at the heart of its business. It has ambitions from reducing emissions and waste and positively contributing to the communities it serves, to creating a great place for people to…
Read MoreAir Canada reveals latest Retrojet paint scheme on the A220
Last week, Airbus opened its paint hangar doors in Mirabel and let us peek inside where the latest aircraft is being painted for Air Canada. Instead of the usual black and white ‘Raccoon mask’ livery that Air Canada is now sporting across its fleet, the airline has opted to nod to its history, revealing its…
Read MoreMEA receives new A321neo with new interiors and livery
MEA doesn’t often feature on TheDesignAir, as it has slipped under the radar for a while with its older fleet and less-than-design approach to aviation. However it seems the airline has turned a corner and is featuring firmly on our radar now. While not as ‘bells and whistles’ as many other Middle Eastern carriers, it…
Read MoreMove over Star Trek. Could Airbus’ Bird of Prey inspire a future generation of engineers? We think it’s simply beautiful
Airbus has unveiled a stunning conceptual design for a new airliner that pushes the boundaries of technology and innovation with its bird-like appearance, created to inspire a new generation of aeronautical engineers. The design isn’t just a flight of fancy though, dubbed the ‘Bird of Prey’ due to wing and tail structures which mimic those…
Read MoreCould seats get wider for long-haul any time soon? Lift Aero Design think there’s an opportunity
Passenger seat rules and regulations regarding ergonomics haven’t really changed in decades. However, as a race, human’s have continued to evolve, and we’re getting larger and taller. This means economy seats and cabins once comfortable for passengers in the 1960’s are no longer viable for today’s traveller. In fact the CDC says between 1960 and…
Read More