Most 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 MoreIn traditional Qatar Airways style, the airline doesn’t hold back when it comes to a celebration. In honour of the Chinese New Year, the airline has introduced an oriental inspired menu on board flights to popular Asia destinations between 11 and 12 February 2021. In Qatar Airways’ Doha Al Mourjan Business Lounge, passengers will also…
Read MoreThe past two years airlines have had to think a little differently to maintain brand love, generate revenues and shift old stock that have filled warehouses. As such we’ve seen a wave of upcycling across the globe, with inflight trolleys finding their ways into homes from Asia, all the way to Europe, but now all…
Read MoreThis could be the coolest thing to grace our desk all year. Two things we love. Concorde, and Aston Martin. In British Airways’ centenary year and on the anniversary of Concorde’s final flight, the carrier announced a partnership with Aston Martin, cumulating in a limited-edition sports car that honours the supersonic aircraft. The luxury British car manufacturer…
Read MoreBritish Airways today welcomed the arrival of the third in its series of four heritage liveries – a Boeing 747 painted in the iconic Landor design, which will be recognisable for many including myself as it flew on British Airways aircraft between 1984-1997. In fact this livery graced the fleet as I used to watch…
Read MoreWhile Norwegian may have recently taken the crown of flying more passengers across the Atlantic to New York area as a non-US carrier – a long-standing honour recently held by British Airways – the legacy carrier has just shown why sometimes its not just about size, but how you do it, that counts. British Airways…
Read MoreSchiphol Airport in Amsterdam has announced they have selected KAAN Architecten’s sleek modernist design for their new terminal set to open in 2023, thirty years since the last expansion. The new terminal will allow 14 million more passengers to travel through Schiphol per year, helping the hub become a more powerful global contender. The new terminal…
Read MoreSaudia this week received their first two 787-9 Dreamliners which is scheduled to start passenger operation in February. The new interiors are designed by Honour Branding, who also worked as part of the Etihad Design Consortium that brought the Etihad 787-9 Dreamliners to life (the only other Middle East carrier to currently operate the model).…
Read MoreAs 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 MoreToday marks the launch of British Airways‘ brand new Concorde Bar in Singapore Changi airport Terminal 1. This marks the first in a series of luxury British Airways Concorde lounges opening across the world, designed by London based brand experience company Honour. The bar, named after the carriers original supersonic flagship aircraft, is exclusively available for BA’s…
Read MoreFor the sixth consecutive year, Alitalia has scooped best inflight cuisines in the skies according to the Global Traveler Awards 2015. We aren’t surprised by this announcement, as we were blown away by the cuisine found on a recent trip report which excelled on every level. Since their partnership with Etihad, the service offering has been improved…
Read MoreGaruda Indonesia has appointed International transport design specialist, JPA Design to create its new aircraft cabin interiors as the airline expands its fleet and builds on its reputation as a world-class carrier. The same design agency that created the DoveTail business class seat (as shown above) and recently Singapore Airlines new Premium Economy Class seat. Garuda’s new…
Read MoreChangi Singapore has just welcomed a new lounge courtesy of design studio Graven. Housing the Concorde Lounge put together by Honour Branding that we covered earlier this month, this opening marks the eighth Lounge that Graven has designed for British Airways, in locations ranging from Edinburgh to Washington Dulles. Ross Hunter, Director at Graven said: “BA is one of…
Read MoreFlight: EY11 Aircraft Type: A380 Class: First Class “Apartments” Route: AUH-LHR Flight time: 7:25 Seat: 1H Date: Februrary 2015 http://www.etihad.com Best for: Anyone who can afford it. Suitable for those who have to travel a long way and value space, service and comfort above all else. The crowd: An almost-full cabin. With ultimate privacy, it was hard to say, but mainly top level executive travellers.…
Read MoreAccording to Gatwick airport, 20% of travellers arriving into the airport travel on business, so the opening of a new arrivals lounge in the South Terminal makes perfect sense. What makes even more sense, is the new Regus Arrivals Lounge is open to all (at a fee.) The new Regus Express facilities offer convenient access for…
Read MoreJust recently, Skytrax rated Singapore Changi as the World’s Best Airport, for the third year running. Changi Airport celebrated further success at the Awards, unsurprisingly receiving the award as ‘Best Airport for Leisure Amenities’. These leisure amenities include music bar lounges, cinemas, a music deck, swimming pool, napping and rest areas and the in-terminal Transit…
Read MoreSorry? What was that? Yes we wouldn’t blame you for looking twice at the image above. Alitalia really has launched a new livery, and whilst the awaiting press may have been a little disappointed to not see something perhaps as young, bold and dynamic as Etihad’s recent (award-winning) livery, we are delighted with the result.…
Read MorePlease read our first installment of our four part series here and second instalment here. Part 3 | Business Class. It’s possibly one of the hardest cabins to design. Customer expectations are high, margins are low and space is at a premium. Now with the advent of premium economy and the still-standing First Class sandwiching the most popular of premium cabins,…
Read MorePlease read our first installment of our four part series here . Part 2 | Days after visiting Honour, I head on over to Acumen, another member of the EDC. Situated just around the corner in Clerkenwell, Acumen are also settling into their new offices, the epitome of London creativity, a bright and well-designed space that…
Read MoreRead Part 1 here | Read Part 2 here | Read Part 3 here Part 4 | Economy. “Amazing! It’s like being on the Orient Express” I instinctively say when seeing the designs for the Economy Smartseat of Etihad’s new fleet. My interviewees all smile at that comment. I guess that must be called ‘hitting…
Read MoreEtihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has unveiled the new product and service offering on its Airbus A380 and Boeing B787 Dreamliner aircraft, including The Residence by Etihad, definitely the world’s most luxurious living space in the air, available only on the airline’s A380 aircraft. The new interiors have been designed…
Read MoreEvery designer’s idea of sheer panic is a blank sheet of paper. Imagine if this was given to you in the form of a completely empty A380 shell, and you were asked to create purely original ideas to fill it to the brim. It’s this blank piece of ‘metaphorical’ paper that was given to the…
Read MoreA recent article on CNBC and the Daily Mail has highlighted how Saudia is considering segregating male and female passengers onboard its planes. Whilst we take this story with a pinch of salt, it does highlight how design onboard can either aid or hinder an airline’s core requirements. Whilst the laws have allegedly come in…
Read MoreBritish Airways have just released images of their brand new interiors for their short haul fleet. The airline it has announced it will be refitting 95 (not all) of its short haul fleet with these slick new contemporary designs, which fit closer in-line to their long haul fleet offering. The new cabins will be available…
Read MoreToday (May 4th 2014) Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has unveiled the world’s first private multi-room cabin on a commercial passenger aircraft. The Residence will unbelievably feature a living room, double bedroom, separate ensuite shower room, and for the first time in the airline industry, a dedicated, trained Butler. We…
Read MoreHere at thedesignair.net, we have almost been running for 6 years and produced in excess of 1,000 stories. We are thrilled that the website has grown so quickly, with such a great following. As the site grows, so do our partnerships, and we have worked hard to develop relationships with some of the best talent…
Read MoreVirgin Atlantic managed to top the polls in the CoolBrands List. The CoolBrands List has been running for 11 years and has featured the sexy red airline rather a lot. Sir Richard Branson’s airline was one of only two airlines to place, along with British Airways, However Virgin Atlantic placed 8th coolest brand in the…
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