Hong Kong Airlines, the more progressive of the two major carriers in Hong Kong, has just announced the second wave of its colourful, artistic amenity kits that highlights the city’s vibrant culture through a collaborative partnership with four local artists. The first of four Business Class amenity kits feature the distinctive designs of Lock Lai, founder…
Read MoreHong Kong Airlines just received its latest A350, and with it, the next evolution of its premium experience, unveiling a newly upgraded Business Class seat. This new seat rivals that of Cathay Pacific and here at TheDesignAir we actually prefer the Super Diamond product compared to Cathay Pacific’s due to its increased space and storage…
Read MoreMonday didn’t just see the launch of a new route to Los Angeles on the carrier’s A350, but also of a range of stylish new tableware for award-winning Hong Kong Airlines. The carrier picked a local company to help design their new range. The award-winning, local homeware design brand JIA Inc. and inflight experience specialists…
Read MoreLast week saw not only the arrival of Hong Kong Airlines brand new lounge, but also their very first of 21 A350 aircraft. The airline is embracing the aircraft to support its international development, cherry-picking long-haul destinations that strategically support its future growth. The airline is putting emphasis on developing routes to North America and…
Read MoreFollowing the opening of the airport VIP lounge “Club Bauhinia” in 2014, Hong Kong Airlines has taken premium customer services to the next level by investing HK$35 million in the construction of “Club Autus”, a brand new VIP lounge located on the seventh floor of the Midfield Concourse at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Design…
Read MoreThis week saw the opening of SkyTeam’s latest beautiful lounge in Hong Kong International Airport. This is the latest major SkyTeam lounge opening since Sydney earlier this year. The ‘Exclusive’ Lounge is the result of a partnership between China Airlines and China Eastern airlines. It is SkyTeam’s first VIP Lounge in the Greater China region and the…
Read MoreBrands 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 MoreUganda 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 MoreAs the phrase goes, “good things come in small packages.” In 2018, the airline industry carried 4.4billion passengers. It has become an integral part of human life, but it’s also an industry of behemoth players. In fact, in 2018, the top 10 airline groups transported over one third of the entire annual traffic, leaving the…
Read MoreStarlux Airlines, Taiwan’s latest startup is starting to turn heads. Originally a start-up that – like most – had a questionable future, seems to be full-steam ahead with a recent uniform and A321neo cabin launch. It hasn’t stopped there though, as there have been signature scents and even homeware products that the airline has launched…
Read MoreIt’s no surprise that we are slightly enamoured with Philippine Airlines, especially in the last few years where the carrier has invested heavily in to its hard and soft product. The upgraded 777s and the brand-spanking-new A350s push the carrier well above its previous product offering, and is fast becoming an interesting alternative to the…
Read MoreBoth China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines are receiving new cabin products for their latest generation aircraft deliveries. Shanghai Airlines’ 787 Dreamliner arrived at the Hongqiao International Airport, delivered to China Eastern’s affiliated Shanghai Airlines to become the carrier’s 100th aircraft. The new aircraft will initially serve domestic routes between Shanghai and Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. After that,…
Read MoreWhile 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 MoreThis week sees the last of American Airlines 47 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to receive it’s retrofit. This means that the carrier can now boast lie-flat, aisle accessible seats in Business Class and International Wi-Fi on all 67 Boeing 777s in their fleet (which comprises 47 777-200ERs and 20 777-300ERs). The completion will be music to…
Read MoreOur Regular UK followers might take great pleasure in the news that Philippine Airlines will be introducing it’s flagship 777-300ER aircraft on the Manila-London route, replacing the older A340 product that’s been operating the past few years. Originally penned to star flying in December, the date has been moved forward to September 19th 2017, meaning…
Read MoreWe constantly write about how lounges continue to impress us, and this is purely due to the fact there is a lounge war on right now, with airlines around the world trying to offer their passengers an experience to equal their competitors. Cathay Pacific today revealed a lounge that would not just cater for their current passenger…
Read MoreYou won’t miss this in a rush! Singapore Airlines have just brought one of two aircraft out of the paint shop to celebrate Singapore’s 50th year of independence. Today marked SIA’s special A380 Charity Flight, on which some 300 beneficiaries of Community Chest experienced a three-hour flight on the jet. Beneficiaries included children with special needs,…
Read MoreThe latest carrier to embrace a residential concept for their lounge offering, Singapore Airlines has unveiled its brand new SilverKris Lounge at Heathrow, following the airline’s recent move into Heathrow’s Terminal 2. Designed by renowned architectural and interior design firm ONG&ONG, the new Heathrow SilverKris Lounge for First and Business Class customers is the third lounge to…
Read MoreFrom 9 August 2015, customers travelling on select Singapore Airlines flights from Singapore to Sydney will be the first to experience the airline’s latest cabin class. Premium economy will eventually be rolled out to other destinations served by the Airline’s Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, as well as their Airbus A350s, including Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Frankfurt,…
Read MoreIt’s been a while, but we are continuing our comparison reports on some of the most popular and competitive routes in the world. In the midst of our recent travel planning we noticed the great variety of carriers travelling between Hong Kong and Bangkok. There are 9 main competitors that run the city pair, formed of Thai Airways, Emirates, Sri…
Read MoreHong Kong Express may have been around for a while now, but it is finally pushing itself away from Hong Kong Airlines who until just recently shared an almost identical livery. As Hong Kong Express pushes itself forward as a true LCC, it was time to shake off its previous image and embrace something new.…
Read MoreUnlike other media-outlets focussing on the airline industry we make a point to never really comment on short-lived, political or click-bait style news. We focus our approach on the long-lasting customer experience advancements, but Hong Kong has created a unique global environment over the past couple of years, built on political unrest and now the…
Read MoreTheDesignAir 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 MoreIt’s another month, another airline, another amenity kit. This time, Formia brought together a collaboration with Etro and Aeromexico, offering their business class passengers a stylish new kit bag filled with the usual perks befitting a premium passenger. “The style of Etro’s fashion lends itself perfectly to these amenity kits whose exterior is made of…
Read MoreUnless you have been living under a rock today you will already have seen the new business class product for British Airways, dubbed the ‘Club Suite.’ The new suite brings a range of improvements to the passenger experience including all-aisle access, more storage, larger IFE screens and even doors, offering even more privacy, similar to…
Read MoreTheDesignAir 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 MoreNext year will see some exciting developments for passengers travelling to and from London, UK. With new routes, frequencies, upgraded aircraft and enhanced cabin products, London is getting the best of what the skies have to offer. Here is our low-down for the best trips you can take from London in 2018. Mahé, Seychelles Direct…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is pleased to announce the 2017 Award winners as voted for by our esteemed judging panel and our readers. This year has seen a wave of improvements around the world in the field of passenger experience. From impressive new aircraft, new First Class Suites to the smallest details found in tableware and amenity kits.…
Read MoreFiji 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 MoreThe Streets of Hong Kong have just got a little bit snappier today. Hong Kong-based HK Express launched its new uniform for cabin crew designed by LIFT Strategic Design, which also created the airline’s brand and cabin interior. In a shift from the normal buzz of employing a fashion designer to create the uniforms for…
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