LATAM took a fairly surprising (and welcome) decision to completely revamp its still fairly modern signature ground product in Santiago de Chile, which only opened back in 2015. The brand-new LATAM Lounge has just opened its doors for its preferred passengers and LATAM’s partner airline members, including while waiting for their flight. The new space,…
Read MoreLATAM goes sustainable with eco-amenity kits designed by emerging artistic talent
Anyone who has visited South America will appreciate how strong the design culture is there. So it’s no surprise that the de-facto airline of the region LATAM has celebrated its cultural roots with two new amenity kits, which have sustainability at their heart. This new release reflects one of the emerging trends TheDesignAir predicted for…
Read MoreCongratulations to TheDesignAir Award Winners, 2022
It’s with great pleasure TheDesignAir’s 10th annual award winners have been announced today, celebrating the very best in aviation design, brand and passenger experience from across the globe. We’re thrilled to see airlines once again investing in passenger experience and brand, and there have been many excellent entrants and shortlisted entries this year. We’re thrilled…
Read MoreLATAM receives first 787-9 with new inflight hard product
LATAM’s 25th Boeing 787 took off for the first time from Santiago International Airport yesterday as flight LA750 to São Paulo, Brazil. The group received the new aircraft last week at Boeing’s Delivery Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Not only is this the 25th 787-9, but this is the first Boeing 787 to feature LATAM’s…
Read MoreAvianca reveals innovative new seats for A320 fleet
During ALTA Airline Leaders Forum 2021, an event hosted by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association in Bogota, Avianca presented three new seats that will be retrofitted across the carrier’s short- and medium-haul A320 fleet. The Premium, Plus and Economy seats were all designed by Recaro Aircraft Seating, with an innovative approach to…
Read MoreVirgin Atlantic gets the Star Wars bug, alongside LATAM, with special livery aircraft
It’s a real battle of do you prefer the Dark Side or the rebel Alliance this week as Virgin Atlantic and LATAM both reveal special limited edition liveries to support the opening of Star Wars ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ experience at Walt Disney World Resort. While LATAM have showcased their stormtrooper themed 777, Virgin Atlantic have themed one…
Read MoreLATAM launches new business class dining and celebrates first 777 with new cabin products
This week saw LATAM unveil the final phases of its upgraded ‘Premium Business’ service by showcasing to press the first Boeing 777 in its fleet to feature the group’s new cabin product. The new business class service and hard product is part of a $500 million investment to improve the passenger experience and includes US$400…
Read MoreLATAM’s new South American narrow body ‘Premium Economy’ is everyone else’s Business Class, and we love them for it…
If you’ve ever travelled within Europe (excluding on Turkish Airlines) you’ve probably flown what is dubbed Euro Business. It’s a fairly simple concept of the first few rows of an otherwise fairly normal narrow-body jet becoming the carrier’s Business Class, which comes with all the bells and whistles of a Business Class ticket, including priority…
Read MoreHas the era of revolution ended? Long live evolution
Let’s face it, airline cabins are becoming more and more familiar, the day of being surprised when walking onboard is almost over. The era of innovation that saw all-aisle access, private suites, and fully flat beds in business class – which first blossomed some twenty years ago – has seemingly settled into a plateau that…
Read MoreTheDesignAir 2021 Award Winners Announced
After a year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the return of its annual Airline Design awards. Celebrating the very best in airline passenger experience, brand and design across the globe, the awards – now in its 9th year – have once again bestowed its leading design airlines, new products and…
Read MoreLATAM And Priestmangoode Showcase New Interiors
Priestmangoode today announced a new cabin design for LATAM’s fleet of aircraft. Following the design company’s short haul aircraft interiors, PriestmanGoode has worked with LATAM to design new cabin interiors for the South American carrier as part of its vision to offer passengers “a travel experience with more options, flexibility and personalisation.” The new cabin interiors…
Read MoreSharjah receives new Premium Lounge, brought to life by JPA Design
As travel starts to comeback to the UAE, Sharjah’s airport has opened its newly designed Premium Lounge, which will cater to all passengers either with a suitable lounge programme, or by payment on entry. The lounge is just one element in a 4,000 square metre extension. The extensive refurbishment of the lounge features a paired…
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 MoreTrip Report: LATAM B777-300ER Business Class January 2019
Flight: LA8084 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER Class: Business Class Route: GRU-LHR Date: January 2019 http://www.latam.com LATAM‘s 777 has long been on our radar to experience. While we had experienced the 787-8 operated by LAN back in 2015, the 777 offered a very different experience, with a traditional 2 x 3 x 2 configuration in business class with the ‘dreaded’ middle seat. While…
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 More5 great upgraded Business Class cabins already flying in 2019
2019 has already seen a wealth of new product launches and new aircraft deliveries. This means that passengers are starting to experience the latest wave in business class seats and cabins across the globe. While there are many more exciting products on the horizon from Emirates‘ Premium Economy product through to Lufthansa’s new 777 business…
Read MoreDelta’s A330-900neos bring familiar Delta One product to Business Class, and World’s first on an A330 to offer fully enclosed suites
Delta, 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 MoreLATAM Impresses With New Cabin Interiors As Part Of US$400m Investment
LATAM Airlines Group today unveiled its plan to transform the cabins and travel experience of no less than two-thirds of its global fleet with a US$400 million investment. The company will revamp the interior of more than 200 aircraft over the next two years with passengers being able to fly the first renovated aircraft relatively…
Read MoreAnnouncing the winners of TheDesignAir awards 2019
TheDesignAir 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 MoreOpinion: Why the world needs innovative airlines like Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand
As 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 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 MoreStar Bores. How not to do a themed safety video. (Sorry United)
Great news! United Airlines has just released a themed Star Wars safety video. Jumping on the Star Wars bandwagon (which already includes Virgin Atlantic, ANA and Latam, to name just a few) the carrier is celebrating the launch of the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by releasing a safety video, special livery and Mileage…
Read MoreHi Fly receives their latest A330-900neo with new cabin interiors
Hi Fly, an aircraft leasing company has a varied fleet, ranging from Airbus A330s and A340’s through to their famous A380s – ex Singapore Airlines aircraft – made famous by helping out Norwegian during their 787 engine issues from Rolls Royce. However their new cabin showcases what the airline would look like if they had…
Read MoreLATAM Introduces New Economy Meals To Entice International Flyers
LATAM Airlines unveiled a fantastic and innovative new dining concept for the Economy cabin of its long-haul international flights (longer than seven hours), which is now available onboard flights to/from Chile and will be introduced throughout the airline group’s international network before the end of 2017. LATAM has defied convention and replaced the traditional tray…
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 MoreIs this the new international standard for long-haul Business class?
For anyone that travels in premium cabins a lot, there seem to be a few moving goalposts when it comes to an internationally standardised product. Where some carriers believe business class comes with all bells and whistles, such as chauffeur drive, the same carrier might not believe in pyjamas. While some offer dine on demand,…
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 MoreAnnouncing TheDesignAir Awards 2018 Winners
TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the 2018 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 business class cabins to swathes of new airline lounges, no stone has been left unturned…
Read MoreBritish Airways Opens Ultra-Modernist Lounge In Rome Fiumicino Airport
British Airways and fellow oneworld passengers flying from Rome’s Fiumicino airport can now have their own slice of Gattica inspired luxury thanks to a newly launched lounge. This lounge is the spearhead of its £4.5bn investment to benefit its customers, revamping lounges across its network, starting with this opening in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and the result…
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…
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