American Express has just opened its new lounge in JFK, and with more than 15,000 square feet behind its doors, the new space is the largest Centurion Lounge yet and the first with two floors to explore. Naturally, because of the current travel climate, it hasn’t opened quite as the designers had originally envisaged it,…
Read MoreAmerican Express and Escape open new lounges side-by-side in Phoenix Sky Harbor’s terminal 4
American Express and MAG USA (parent company of Escape) have just announced the opening of The Centurion and Escape Lounges at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). Located in the airport’s Terminal 4 the lounges will cater to passengers flying with Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Condor, Southwest, Volaris and WestJet. The new lounge complex…
Read MoreAmerican Express opens new lounge in Sydney operated by Plaza Premium
Tomorrow will see the opening of a new and improved American Express lounge in Sydney Airport, replacing its smaller predecessor. Located near Gates 50-63 at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal, the new lounge now spans over 600 sq m. The lounge is operated by global premium airport hospitality specialists Plaza Premium Group and offers guests…
Read MoreAmerican Express Reopens Larger And Enhanced Centurion Lounge In Miami
Yesterday saw the re-opening of American Express’ Centurion Lounge at Miami International Airport. The lounge was recently expanded and renovated to offer Platinum Card Members access to even more space and better food and beverage selections in one of the network’s most popular lounges. Featuring an extra 100 seats, the lounge encompasses 12,300 sq. ft,…
Read MoreAmerican Express Opens New Lounge In Melbourne
American Express opened a new lounge this week in Melbourne International Airport. Located in Terminal 2 at Satellite Level Departures, The American Express Lounge “will offer Card Members a place to relax, refresh and reboot while traveling through Australia.” The lounge, which sadly doesn’t feature any windows, might be small, but its access is fairly limited,…
Read MoreAmerican Express Centurion Lounge Opens In Hong Kong International Airport
This week American Express announced the expansion of its signature airport lounge network, The Centurion Lounge, with two new locations in Hong Kong and Philadelphia International Airports. Hong Kong, which opened this week, marks the first Centurion lounge in Asia, and Philadelphia, opening in late October, marks the 8th U.S. location of this brand. “We are…
Read MoreAmerican Express ‘The Centurion’ Lounges Set To Impress
You may never have heard of these lounges, but they are pretty exclusive. However, all you need to enter, is an American Express card. Yesterday American Express announced they are expanding The Centurion Lounge network by opening its seventh location at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), terminal D. The 8,500 square foot Lounge is currently slated to…
Read MoreAmerican Airlines Opens New Heathrow Arrivals Lounge
American Airlines have just opened a contemporary new-look lounge in one of their key destinations, London’s Heathrow Terminal 3. This is just one of the many locations to receive some love that American Announced at the beginning of the year. Gone is the drab traditional interior, instead, there is an almost Mad Men feel to the main space.…
Read MoreTRIP REPORT: Virgin America Main Cabin Express – November 2012
Virgin America Economy Class Report Flight: VX290 Aircraft Type: A320 Class: Economy Class (Main Cabin Express) Route: LAX – CUN Date: 06th November 2012 Best for: Cheap tickets to cool destinations, with less emphasis on cheap, more on chic. Most likely to sit next to: If you were me, slightly larger Americans laden with neck pillows, that didn’t get the memo that…
Read MoreTrip Report: LATAM B777-300ER Business Class January 2019
Flight: LA8084 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER Class: Business Class Route: GRU-LHR Date: January 2019 http://www.latam.com LATAM‘s 777 has long been on our radar to experience. While we had experienced the 787-8 operated by LAN back in 2015, the 777 offered a very different experience, with a traditional 2 x 3 x 2 configuration in business class with the ‘dreaded’ middle seat. While…
Read MoreAlitalia Continues To Develop Design And Launches New Casa Alitalia Lounge in Rome
While Air Italy has started its long-haul routes to Miami and New York, Alitalia is working hard to keep its top flyers loyal to the airline at a time when it needs the most support. Today, Alitalia inaugurated the new Casa Alitalia lounge at Rome Fiumicino’s Pier E, the new boarding area for most of Alitalia’s medium…
Read MoreTAP Portugal Launches New Lisbon Lounge Designed By Miguel Arruda
Last week saw the opening of TAP Portugal’s brand-new business class lounge in Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport. The new lounge replaces the previous space and prepares the company for its increasing fleet of retrofitted fully-flat bed seats and new A330neo aircraft just around the corner. Covering an area of 850 square metres with space for…
Read MoreAir Canada Reveals New Brand Image, Livery & Uniforms
Today, in a simultaneous cross-country launch in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, Air Canada unveiled for its customers and employees a new livery inspired by Canada for its entire fleet, new uniforms for its employees, and a taste of some of the new onboard menu offerings that its customers can look forward to. “Air Canada’s new livery signals a pivotal inflection point in our…
Read MoreTrip Report: Turkish Airlines B787-9 Business Class September 2019
Flight: TK67 Aircraft Type: 787-9 Class: Business Class Route: DPS-IST Date: September 2019 http://www.turkishairlines.com It’s not a secret that Turkish Airlines has one of the best soft products in the sky. From our previous reports, we’ve always been impressed with the food & drink, amenities and IFE system onboard their aircraft, but the B777 and A330 hard products in business…
Read MoreTrip Report: OmanAir B787-9 First Class March 2019
Flight: WY102 Aircraft Type: 787-9 Class: First Class Route: LHR-MCT Date: March 2019 http://www.omanair.com Oman Air has long been on our radar to offer a trip report. Its careful positioning as a boutique carrier based in the Middle East doesn’t mean it is one of the big and bold ME3, but it is certainly pushing the envelope when it comes…
Read MoreTrip Report: Turkish Airlines A321 & 737 Business Class April 2017
Flight: TK1984 & TK1981 Aircraft Type: A321 & 737-800 Class: Business Class Route: LHR-IST-LGW Date: April 2017 http://www.turkishairlines.com Turkish Airlines may be the most International airline, flying to more countries and destinations than any other carrier, both short and long-haul, but its not size that always counts. While the ME3 carriers get most of the attention, Turkish Airlines was certainly worth a…
Read MoreIs British Airways New Boost To Club All It’s Cracked Up To Be?
First, let us start by saying, we welcome – nay applaud – investment into a new Club World product for British Airways. The past few months and steerage of new CEO Alex Cruz has seen consistent cuts to the product, at a time when it needed serious investment. Ticket prices have been constantly higher than…
Read MoreAlaska Absorbs Virgin America Brand
Alaska Airlines have just announced that they will form a combined carrier, as the company solidifies its status as the West Coast’s premier airline. While sadly the Virgin America brand will be absorbed by Alaska Airlines, the partnership seems to have rubbed off on the longer-lasting of the two carriers. There’s still a good amount…
Read MoreTrip Report: SriLankan A330-300 Business Class September 2016
Flight: UL504 Aircraft Type: A330-300 Class: Business Class Route: LHR-CMB Date: September 2016 http://www.srilankan.com SriLankan Airlines has passed by our radar for far too long, and their new business class product has now been flying for a few years on their A330-300 aircraft. Featuring all-aisle access, WiFi and quite frankly, amazing cuisine, it was time to take this Oneworld…
Read MoreTrip Report: Avianca A330 Business Class July 2015
Flight: AV121 Aircraft Type: A330-200 Class: ‘Previous Generation’ Business Class Route: LHR-BOG Flight time: 10:27 Seat: 1J Date: July 2015 http://www.avianca.com Best for: People travelling in pairs. The previous generation business class seats are in a 2 x 2 x 2 format. Fares are low, and offer good connections through most of South & Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. The crowd: Mainly South American…
Read MoreHawaiian Airlines Deliver An Exceptional Premium Cabin
Watch out Fiji Airways, there is a new boutique airline vying for the attention of the Pacific. Hawaiian Airlines today revealed their plans to install a brand new lie-flat first class (or International business class) product that matches international business class standards. We are thrilled, as finally Hawaiian have concreted their position as the true owner of…
Read MoreTRIP REPORT: Finnair A321 Business Class November 2014
Flight: AY0832 Aircraft Type: A321 Class: Business Class Route: LHR-HEL Date: November 2014 http://www.finnair.com Best for: Affordable, one stop flights to a whole host of Asian destinations. Most likely to sit next to: Designers, Architects and super cool Asian-techie travellers. Business or pleasure: No Wi-Fi, or IFE on this shorter flights, but with a seat left open between your fellow passenger, there is…
Read MoreTRIP REPORT: British Airways 747 Business Class October 2014
Flight: BA117 Aircraft Type: B747-400 Class: “Club World” Business Class Route: LHR-JFK Date: October 2014 http://www.ba.com Best for: UK based travellers who travel a lot, who can benefit from frequent flier perks. Most likely to sit next to: On this route, expect NY-LON travellers, who take the trip as much as they would a Taxi, nothing phases or surprises these über-travellers. Business…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Top 10 Economy Classes Of 2013
We are pleased to announce our Top 10 economy classes for 2013. We have scoured the world for airlines that have really shown us something truly special. Whilst many airlines didn’t make the list, we’d like to state that generally over the past 12 months, we have seen airlines around the world innovate and renovate…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Top 10 Airline’s Business Class 2013
So welcome to 2013, and business is booming (allegedly) so why not take a review of some of the best business classes available around the world right now. Whether it’s window shopping or a serious decision, our team of experts have scoured the world to find some of the most exclusive cabins available this year.…
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Since founding thedesignair.net in 2012, Jonny Clark has collaborated with magazines and websites around the world, and has become a recognised source of opinion in the airline industry. thedesignair.net continues to grow in its second year and has now partnered with some prestigious brands around the world, whilst still maintaining an easy-to-digest design-led website based…
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