Brands create identities to stand out, visually represent what they stand for and what they do. Simple brand images are the ones that work best, if we said golden arches, globally everyone would know we’re talking about McDonalds. A bitten apple, Apple. The list may be short, but iconic. Airlines also have to stand out…
Read MoreBrussels Airlines Launches Bruegel, Its Sixth Belgian Icon
The chances are by now if you travel around Europe, you’ve probably seen one of Brussels Airlines ‘Icon’ aircraft at some point over the past few years. After honouring Tintin in 2015, followed by Magritte, the Red Devils, Tomorrowland and the Smurfs, Brussels Airlines has just unveiled another Belgian Icon, a unique aircraft inspired by…
Read MoreBrussels Airlines Launches Boutique Hotel, In The Sky
Brussels Airlines has just revealed a rebranding and repositioning of its in-flight product which will grace the skies on it’s A330 fleet starting in April. By investing 10 million euros per aircraft in a completely new Business Class, new Premium Economy and Economy Class the airline wants to offer a personal experience – dubbed ‘a…
Read MoreJPA Design To Bring New Brussels Airlines Long-Haul Interiors To Life
With the recent launch of Air Belgium, legacy carrier Brussels Airlines has had to make sure it keeps its product offering competitive. Not surprisingly, they turned to JPA Design, a London-headquartered company that has brought the likes of premium carriers Singapore Airlines and Finnair to life, as well as other mid-level carriers such as Hawaiian…
Read MoreThe Loft By Brussels Airlines Expands Further To Increase Space And Innovation For Guests
Yesterday saw the opening of Brussels Airlines’ The Loft extension in Brussels International Airport. Brussels Airlines expanded the lounge to cater for it’s 1,500 daily passengers who use the existing facilities, providing an increased amount of space for up to 500 passengers at any time. The airline has taken a true ‘product placement’ approach to the…
Read MoreThe Smurfs Take To The Skies Thanks To Brussels Airlines
The process might have taken 7 months but after 1,415 submitted ideas were whittled down to one, a single A320 took 14 days out of its schedule to be painted up as the winning livery of the ‘Belgian Icon’ contest. Named ‘Aerosmurf’, this unique design by Italian Marta Mascellani, was chosen by the public from…
Read MoreBrussels Airlines Announces Fifth Special Livery Aircraft Addition To Fleet
Belgium seems to be the spawning ground of creativity, that is if Brussels Airlines has anything to do with it. The airline has announced the selection of their fifth special livery aircraft, this time from members of the public who were invited to design their latest aircraft livery. The winning design by Italian student Marta Mascellani…
Read More2019, The Game Of Thrones
While most people will be getting excited about the final instalment of the globally successful HBO franchise, 2019 will also see a range of new business class seats across the globe that will see the business class experience becoming more and more competitive with regards to the hard product on offer. With seat designers and…
Read MoreWhy so blue? The dominance of the colour in the industry
Aviation is awash with blue. Approximately a decade ago, the skies were filled with blue liveries, interiors lined wall-to-wall with blue seats, carpets, and uniforms in every shade of navy. While design studios have gradually peeled airline brands away from such a strong design vertical, what caused such visual dominance in the industry?
Read MoreAer Lingus’ New Livery Doesn’t Sham-rock Our World
Sigh. After much fanfare, Aer Lingus has finally revealed its new brand, which is basically reinventing the shamrock. The core essence of the brand hasn’t changed, apart from a simple refresh and modernisaiton of the typeface and an adaptation of the Shamrock, which is now made up of hearts with a sense of motion brought…
Read More10 Under 10. The Ten Small Airlines That You Really Should Get To Know In 2018
While many airlines in the world vie to be the biggest, there are a few smaller airlines that are certainly fighting to be the best. We take a look at 10 airlines under 10 million passengers per annum that are doing something special in 2018 that – we think – might just be worth getting…
Read MoreThat’s One Red Devil By Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines has had a pretty eventful few weeks excluding the incidents at Brussels Airport. A new Magritte special livery, the launch of a new route to Toronto, and now a shiny red aircraft called ‘Trident’ to celebrate the Belgian national football team ‘The Red Devils.’ The aircraft features a collage of the national team…
Read MoreBrussels Airlines Brings Magritte To The Surrealist Skies
Today saw the unveiling of Brussels Airlines second special livery from a Belgian artistic icon. This time it was René Magritte whose likeness was brought to life on an A320 for the Belgian carrier. Following in the footsteps of Rackham, the Tintin aircraft that the Belgian airline unveiled last year, “Magritte” will grace the skies for an…
Read MoreThe Suite Kinshasa Opens Hot On The Heels Of Latest Brussels Lounge
The Democratic Republic of Congo may not be on every airline’s bucket list of lounge locations, but for Brussels Airlines, Kinshasa is a valuable route, and worthy of it’s first premium lounge offering outside of Brussels. Named ‘The Suite – Kinshasa’, after its recently opened namesake in Brussels, The Suite offers an intimate but well crafted lounge…
Read MoreThe Suite Joins The Loft At Brussels Airport
Here’s some more positive news for Brussels, after opening ‘The Loft’ in Brussels Airport’s Terminal A in 2014, Brussels Airlines has now also inaugurated a new lounge in Terminal B, called ‘The Suite’. This is excellent news for passengers who aren’t travelling within the Schengen zone. Compared to the previous B Pier lounge, The Suite is double…
Read MoreTAP Portugal To Retrofit Seven A330s With Thompson Vantage Business Class Seats
While TAP Portugal‘s two A330s featuring the brand new business class product are already flying between Portugal and the USA, the airline has announced that it will now retrofit seven of its current A330 fleet with a brand new product in business class. The seats won’t be the same as the Sogerma Solstys seats found in the…
Read MoreA Deeper Look Inside SAS’s ‘Bold’ New Brand
If you haven’t seen SAS’s brand new look by Swedish brand agency Bold, then now is a great time to delve deep into a comprehensive look at Scandinavian Airlines multiple branded elements. “When we started working with SAS in early 2014 they were under tremendous pressure to accommodate changing customer habits and were targeting bargain hunters,” state…
Read MoreBlistering Barnacles! Tintin Takes To The Skies
Today Brussels Airlines and Moulinsart unveiled something that we absolutely adore. An Airbus A320 with a livery inspired by the world famous Belgian cartoon character Tintin. Both Belgian companies have worked several months on this unique project, based on the original drawings by the hand of Hergé. Infront of plane enthusiasts and VIP guests, Brussels Airlines and…
Read MoreBrussels Airlines Wow Us With New Contemporary Flagship Lounge
Launched today, with the smell of fresh paint still in the air, Brussels Airlines inaugurated it’s new product: “The Loft” at Brussels International Airport. A fantastic slick new business lounge that puts the heart of Belgian excellence. With this new lounge concept, for which Brussels Airlines has cooperated with top brands and designers, Brussels Airlines “sets…
Read MoreAmerican Continue To Improve Their TransAtlantic Fleet
American Airlines passengers flying across the Atlantic may have noticed a wealth of improvements across the board recently. Not only in the shape of their newest flagship 777-300ER product, but also on AA’s retrofitted workhorse 767 now flying on a variety of routes from the US to Europe and beyond. The new upgraded 767s are a…
Read MoreMalaysia Airlines Launches Updated A330 Business Class
Malaysia Airlines, in a bid to attract a new wave of flyers to its aircraft, unveiled its new A330-300 Business Class seats at the World Travel Market in London this week. The new seats, which will be introduced in April 2016, will see all 15 A330-300 aircrafts fitted with the new configuration by September 2016.…
Read MoreANA Go Full Force With Their 787 Last Week In Brussels & Tatooine(?!)
Japanese carrier ANA have been having some fun with their 787 recently, both playing Star Wars with some avid sci-fi aficionados and also launching their new Brussels flight with a 787 service. On October 17, 2015, the R2-D2 ANA JET Fan Appreciation Flight event was held at Haneda Airport. A total of 91 passengers were selected—42 chosen from…
Read MoreOneworld Launches A Wave Of New Routes This Week
This week saw Cathay, Qantas and British Airways launch a wave of new flights, adding options and increasing the oneworld global network. British Airways has added to its Gatwick leisure network by introducing Toronto and re-establishing Las Vegas in direct competition to Virgin Atlantic’s city pair. This now means BA serves Las Vegas from both…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Exclusive Interview With Star Alliance’s Julie Murphy
Have you ever wondered what involvement the airline alliance has in the design language adopted by their airlines? With the rise the alliance-friendly terminal, such as Heathrow’s Terminal 2, we talk to Julie Murphy, Star Alliance’s Chair in the UK about design and customer experience. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, can…
Read MoreAirlines Get In To A Football Frenzy
With the world cup soon approaching, national airlines around the world are getting into the spirit and supporting their local teams. Here’s a recap of some of the special liveries over the past few weeks – how many have you seen? Let us know! Brussels Airlines ‘Red Devils’ Brussels Airlines went to town with their…
Read MoreChina Airlines To Upgrade European Network
China Airlines, one of our new favourite carriers, has just announced it will be upgrading it’s European routes of Amsterdam, Rome and Vienna with the new A350 aircraft which it is set to receive within a couple of months. Not only China Airlines roll out the new metal on the routes, it has made all…
Read MoreAer Lingus Leapfrog Ahead With Brand New Long Haul Business Class
We haven’t covered much on Aer Lingus before, the carrier has pretty much kept a low-key approach to operations, offering angle-flat business class and fairly standard economy products. Not to say that’s bad, far from it, just not nescessarily ground breaking. It seems that’s all about to change, and the Irish carrier is now a…
Read MoreHeathrow’s Terminal 2’s Slipstream Is An Artistic Achievement
We were lucky enough to be invited to the official press unveiling of Heathrow’s brand new Terminal today, and the launch of the new ‘SlipStream‘ Artwork by Richard Wilson, which sits proudly in front of the building in a covered walkway connecting the rest of Heathrow and Terminal 2’s new car park to the…
Read MoreR2D2 Gets Some Friends Courtesy of ANA
“My parts are showing? Oh, my goodness.” Excellent news Jedis. Japan’s largest airline ANA announced that two more of its planes will be decorated with Star Wars characters as part of an agreement with The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. BB-8, a brand new character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens scheduled for theatrical release in December 2015, will be displayed on the…
Read MoreANA R2D2 787 Rolls Out Of Hangar
We’ve been waiting a while for this, but we’re over the moon. Literally. The R2-D2 ANA Jet, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, rolled-out from the Boeing Everett Factory for the first time this morning. The R2-D2 ANA Jet is the first of three planes to be decorated with Star Wars characters as part of an agreement between ANA,…
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