This week saw not only the partial-acquisition of ITA Airways by Lufthansa Group, but also the first of its 18 A330-900Neo aircraft which will form the backbone of its international fleet. The aircraft is the first to be fully realised with ITA Airways vision for the passenger experience, as the A350’s that are already flying…
Read MoreWith the end of ‘Ohana By Hawaiian, we sadly lose one great livery in the Pacific
Hawaiian Airlines announced last week that unfortunately it will not restart its ‘Ohana by Hawaiian passenger service between Honolulu and Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i as well as its statewide ATR freighter cargo service. This draws a close to this unique daughter brand of Hawaiian Airlines, and with it, the striking livery designed by Sig Zane and son…
Read MoreHottest Design Airlines to Try in 2023
This is the TheDesignAir’s hottest Design Airlines to try in 2023. Whether you fly regularly or are saving up for that once in a lifetime trip, here’s our recommendation for airlines, big and small, that bring a bit of style to the skies, but which have you flown and which are you wanting to try?…
Read MoreCould Beond be the next sustainable all-premium long-haul carrier? With interiors like these, there’s hope.
Beond is an interesting proposition. Through the hype and slightly clumsy press launch, there’s a glimmer of something quite adventurous that could actually work once the kinks are ironed out. Connecting via Dubai certainly doesn’t make for a luxurious experience from Europe to the Maldives, but it’s no different to how many already get there.…
Read MoreCould Northern Pacific take flight? If so, the Pacific will see another exciting livery in the skies
You won’t be blamed if you’ve not heard of Northern Pacific, however in the past few days it’s been making some waves as it seemingly is starting to ramp up its operations. There’s discussion of a launch event in Anchorage later in the month, where we’ll get to understand a little bit more about this…
Read MoreCongratulations to TheDesignAir Award Winners, 2023
Today we are pleased to announce TheDesignAir’s 11th annual award winners, as we celebrate the very best in aviation design, brand, and passenger experience around the world. Every year we see airlines across the globe continue to advance the passenger experience in the air and on the ground. There has been a new wave of…
Read MoreTheDesignAir’s emerging trends for 2022
While 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 MoreAirline cabins and hotels that are giving us wanderlust right now
While the team are doing their bit to help fight this pandemic and staying indoors, it’s also making us a little stir crazy as our wings have been clipped, at least for the coming weeks or months. Like many others out there, we’ve been finding ourselves going through our archives, going online and longing for…
Read MoreFiji Airways shares a sneak peek of what their A350 will look like, and it’s pretty close to a private jet…
The latest renderings of Fiji Airways‘ A350 have showcased what their cabin and livery will look like – and quite frankly both are stunning. The airline, while opting for an incredibly minimalist design inside their latest airframe, has managed to encapsulate the feeling of a private jet with crisp lines and clean white and grey…
Read MoreOpinion: Could Etihad become the Queen of Boutique Carriers post-pandemic?
We’ve been drowning in a sea of short-term hygiene messages across the last year as airlines have rapidly ‘masked up’ in order to win over what little passenger volume there has been. Today’s passengers have been assaulted by marketing imagery of planes being scrubbed within an inch of their life, crew in body suits and…
Read MoreFiji Airways Receives New 737 Max With Stunning Interiors
Bula Kadavu! This week saw Fiji Airways receive their first Boeing 737 Max aircraft. With a total of five on the order books, the airline is looking to supplement their NG fleet with these more fuel efficient aircraft, featuring sky interiors, and by the looks of the hump on the back of the aircraft, connectivity too.…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Awards 2019 voting has now closed!
TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2019 and just like last couple of years, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public. The voting is now closed! Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across the globe. All it takes…
Read MoreTheDesignAir round-up: 10 things we’ve loved in 2019
2019 has seen yet another year of great innovation, new products, new airlines, new lounges and new airport facilities across the globe. It just goes to show how quickly the industry continues to evolve and respond to the ever-increasing needs of an airline passenger. Just before this year, or even this decade, comes to a…
Read More10 Things We Loved In 2018
Air Tahiti Nui’s brand new image We fell in love with Air Tahiti Nui’s new brand image by FutureBrand and Alexander Lee, which brought the island nation to life in the skies of the Pacific. Careful attention to detail, bright bold colours and stunning iconographic patterns caught our eye this year and certainly brought a…
Read MoreFiji Airways Launches New Signature Lounge In Nadi
Fiji Airways, which is a true Boutique airline in the Pacific has just launched its signature lounge. Following 12 months of design and development, the Fiji Airways Premier Lounge is a first-of-its-kind for the region complete with a number of special features including chef-inspired menus, baristas, luxury spa, nanny service and the exclusive ‘Fiji Bean Cart’.…
Read MoreBattle Of The Emerging ‘Boutique Airlines’
It’s a phrase that some airlines build their business model and service proposition on, but the ‘Boutique’ airline is a seemingly new airline type that will no doubt turn our heads a little more often than legacy carriers, but why is that? While La Compagnie has already built the strap-line ‘Boutique Airline’ into their marketing,…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Launches 2018 Awards Shortlist
TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2018 and just like last year, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public, so you can vote for the winners you feel are most worthy. Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across…
Read MoreFiji Airways’ Lounge Swap At LAX Bolsters Its Boutique Luxury Offering
Fiji Airways, like Hawaiian Airlines, is one of the true designer Pacific airlines and the perfect one-stop carrier to connect Australasia to the west coast of the US (or perhaps just for a luxury holiday in Fiji). We’ve been great champions of the brand since its brand refresh a few years ago, however, as we…
Read MoreAir Tahiti Nui Calls On FutureBrand And Tahitian Studio Alexander Lee To Rebrand
Air Tahiti Nui has always been a solid favourite of TheDesignAir, with a boutique airline approach and bold, striking livery that was one of the first Pacific carriers to showcase what a livery and brand can be before the likes of Fiji Airways followed. However, the livery and brand hasn’t really changed for two…
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 MoreAir Tahiti Nui Show Off Beautiful New Livery And New 787-9 Dreamliner
It’s true that when most livery redesigns are revealed, public reaction is usually mixed, with a hint of disappointment due to what can only be described as a world shortage of coloured paint. However, thankfully, this shortage hasn’t reached the Pacific yet where colour still seems to be in abundance. The latest carrier to rebrand…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Launches 2017 Awards Shortlist
TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2017 and just like last year, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public, so you can vote for the winners. Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across the globe. All it takes…
Read MoreEnd Of The Plain Plane? Has The ‘Eurowhite’ Livery Hit Critical Mass?
As Air Canada’s revealed its new livery reveal, we raise the question, has the continuing trend of ‘Eurowhite’ liveries started to draw to a close? It was actually back in 1965 that Braniff International launched their ‘End of the plain plane’ advertising campaign – pointing out that their brightly coloured aircraft and Pucci uniforms were a unique selling…
Read MoreThe Best Of The Best In 2015 – TheDesignAir’s Round-up Of The Year
2015 has been an impressive year with many carriers taking advantage of the lowered oil prices to invest heavily into their passenger experience both on the ground and in the air. We take a look at the best carriers around the world that have caught our attention this year. We offer a retrospective of the…
Read MorePNG Air Is The Latest Pacific Airline to Introduce New Livery And Brand
This may not be the most well-known airline internationally, but PNG Air certainly will be turning heads thanks to a new livery and brand developed by Principals Group, a brand strategy and identity company with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. Launched this month in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea (one of the most challenging…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Top 10 Liveries of 2015
This month we are turning our eyes to the outside of the aircraft. Usually bright and colorful, these calling cards fill international airports with a myriad of designs. A livery, if designed correctly, can convey the brand experience that takes place inside. Each year, our judges (including some new faces) sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark and ticking the right…
Read MoreOur Friends At Fiji Airways Have A Heart-Warming New Campaign
It’s no secret that we love how Fiji Airways have turned themselves around into a successful modern airline, and even with the recent departure of CEO Steven Pilcher, the carrier continues to impress. The latest campaign from the airline “Welcome To Our Home”, better aligns the airline with its goals and also reflects naturally with the…
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 MoreFiji Airways Continue To Improve Onboard Product
Fiji Airways recently celebrated the arrival of their first ATR ‘Fiji Link‘ aircraft. The latest piece in the Fiji Airways metaphorical brand-jigsaw. Along with this are new uniforms for Fiji Link, which are more bright and colourful and in keeping with the spirit of the archeipeligo of the Fiji Islands. However, today they announced the…
Read MoreTheDesignAir’s Top 10 Cool Airline Brands 2015
This month TheDesignAir takes a look at everything that airlines should be. Airlines we want to travel with, and are going above and beyond to create something truly unique in the sky. Our judges have voted and, interestingly, our top 10 all fit within just a 6 percent margin, and, yet again, we haven’t been able to just fit in 10…
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