Delta is the latest airline to act upon its promises to become a more sustainable carrier in the future. While perhaps seen as small steps, by sheer volume, these amount to some substantial changes. Starting this month, the airline will refresh its onboard product offerings with artisan-made amenity kits, introduce recycled bedding, reusable and biodegradable…
Read MoreA staggering 18 months ahead of schedule, the doors to the ‘Delta Sky Way’ at LAX is now open to customers. And when LAX customers visit the new Delta terminal, they’ll have more than just a streamlined check-in experience and new designer facilities to look forward to. The new Delta Sky Club at LAX, located on the…
Read MoreToday marks the opening of Delta’s brand new Delta Sky Club situated in Terminal 2 of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. It is part of a multi-year multi-million dollar renovation project at the airport. The space is clearly designed for a post-COVID world, with soaring floor-to-ceiling windows with runway views, thoughtful interior touches and artwork from…
Read MoreWith Salt Lake City International Airport recently opening its latest terminal, Delta – the largest of airlines operating from SLC – has also opened its largest Delta Sky Club with guests able to enjoy the new space from today. Covering just over 28,000 square feet, the new Club celebrates the area’s famous mountainous landscape while…
Read MoreThe addition of ‘Wellbeing Kits’ to flights might not be a brand new idea, but over the past few weeks, launches of these new amenities have certainly been a welcome addition in the airline’s arsenal to help empower passengers over their own hygiene and sanitisation. Roll over Naomi Campbell, who last year – with her…
Read MoreDelta is yet again investing in their cabins, in what seems a steady stream of improvements to their product. Instead of upgrades to their service or long-haul products (and soon-to-be new uniforms) the new Airbus A321neo is getting some love. While slated to be delivered late 2020, the first image has surfaced of a brand new…
Read MoreNow we aren’t saying AA’s existing lounges weren’t terrible, but apart from a handful, they weren’t much to write home about either. However the good news is that American Airlines has decided to up the ante with a redesign of its Admirals Club lounges across the United States. Customers will first experience the new look…
Read MoreLaunched 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 MoreYesterday saw American Airlines announce a relatively needed and long-awaited refresh to its interiors programme. Bringing its long-haul and premium narrow-body cabins a whole new look was expected, and after United and Delta had rolled out its own signature Polaris and One products, American needed to step up to the mark. While the new cabins…
Read MoreWhether it’s for sadness, or for joy, we’re pretty sure there were a few tears this month in Delta’s finance department as they agreed to part with $2.6billion dollars across two initiatives in as many weeks. The first, starting in March sees Delta Air Lines commit a grand sum of $1 billion over the next…
Read MoreDelta, who recently took a large stake in LATAM has also this summer launched its A330-900neo interiors. This means that now there is a similar all-aisle access business class product on certain LATAM and Delta flights, although Delta, which is rolling out doors across its new Delta One products, might be getting an additional edge.…
Read MoreFriday saw the announcement that KLM will finally introduce its own Premium Economy product, bringing the carrier in line with Air France, Delta and Virgin Atlantic, its strategic partners. Dubbed Premium Comfort Class, the product sits above its economy comfort product which is fundamentally an economy seat with a little more legroom, and below the…
Read MoreLast week saw the announcement of Virgin Atlantic’s return to service, with first flights taking wing on the 20th July to Orlando and Hong Kong, with New York (JFK) Los Angeles and Shanghai following suit the very next day. Following destinations will be announced in the following week for flights commencing at the start of…
Read MoreAir China has just announced it will bring a brand new Business Class seat to 10 of its A350s. While the carrier has a diverse selection of business class seats depending on which aircraft you are travelling on – the latest A350 seats might not be the most spacious, but they might just be the…
Read MoreFrench-born, but New York-raised, artisanal fragrance brand Le Labo is making its way into the new range of Delta’s Delta One TUMI amenity kits this month. Expanding their passenger experience reach and connecting ground and in-flight products, the range will also be housed in more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs later this year too. Delta will…
Read MoreWhile 2022 is already underway, it seems that airlines are starting to emerge from hibernation, and with it, bringing a wave of passenger experience improvements from new cabin classes to new amenities. But what are the emerging trends we expect to see through 2022? Premium Economy wars As well as seeing new premium economy products…
Read MoreThe 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 MoreMost people will have flown on a Vantage product at some point if they’ve flown business class in the past decade, and the VantageXL is the flagship version, which has been adopted by the likes of Qantas, SAS, Delta and Philippine Airlines over the years. Understanding that passenger habits and needs have adapted in the…
Read MoreThere are a few times in the past few years I’ve been proud of the advancements in service levels across all cabins, and this is one of them. Delta seems to be bucking the trend of shredding any passenger comforts away and de-bundling the inflight experience. In one bold statement made today, the airline has…
Read MoreWith some 6000+ narrow-body and regional jets in the US alone, there is a huge market for ‘domestic First Class’ still, and competition is heating up at the front of the plane. Delta has just shown off its new First Class product, first announced in 2020, and the MiQ seats are starting to become commonplace…
Read MoreThroughout 2020, we’ve seen the great efforts airlines have made to quickly adapt the passenger experience from check-in all the way through to onboard. However, airports across the world have also had to play a part in enhancing social distancing and help space out the flow of passengers throughout terminals and gate areas. Luckily, both…
Read MoreIn the first of a series of TheDesignAir Studio Spotlights, we take a look at Viewport Studio, an award-winning multidisciplinary practice with a track record of more than 25 years of experience on projects completed internationally. Based out of London and Singapore, Viewport Studio comprises a team of architects and designers across a mix of…
Read MoreThis year saw Delta roll out new threads for their employees. With any new roll out, comes the important question of what to do with the old uniforms. All 150 tonnes of it. Luckily, Delta has a very progressive approach to its operation, and has innovation running through the entire business. Instead of creating waste…
Read MoreFollowing the delivery of its first Airbus A220-100 last week, Delta gave the world a sneak peek of the aircraft’s brand new interior. The new aircraft, designed to replace the now ageing 717 fleet will become the backbone of Delta’s regional operations with 74 on order atop of this new airframe. Designed to be experience-rich…
Read MoreUnited Airlines, now profitable once again has firmly set its stall as a leading Passenger Experience airline, vying for market dominance through modern, comfortable cabins that give passengers what they want: more space, more entertainment and more choice. This is something we applaud and have been promoting as the right approach to winning over customer…
Read MoreWe’re starting to see some positive stories across the industry now, focussing on a return to service and a return to growth. From Wizz’s latest route announcements, to design agencies and airlines setting up their near-future solutions to Covid-19. However, American Airlines’ latest 787 deliveries re-energise a positive conversation about cabin releases on the horizon.…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is thrilled to announce the 2019 award winners as voted for by our esteemed judging panel and our readers. Year after year, we see more improvements and enhancements across the passenger experience, from narrow to wide bodies to lounges and airports around the globe. We showcase the 2019 winners here.
Read MoreThere is good reason why Delta won both “Winner Best Design Airline North America 2017” and “Most Improved Airline” at our awards last year. The latest addition to their fleet, a retrofitted 777-200 is a prime example of how the airline is going above and beyond to offer a truly exceptional passenger experience. At the…
Read MoreHot on the heels of its Vantage Solo design (now being manufactured by Thompson Aero Seating), London-based Factorydesign has revealed details about its mid-market hybrid business class seat for narrow body long-haul aircraft. Trying to navigate the economics and ergonomics of a premium product on a narrow body aircraft proves one of the most difficult…
Read MoreAviation 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?
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