While Lufthansa had to quietly retreat from it’s questionable 5-star Skytrax rating just a few weeks ago, to a more understandable 4-star rating, it’s no surprise that the carrier is trying to pull out all the stops to re-energise interest in the carrier which has been marred recently by news of impending strikes. Yesterday Lufthansa…
Read MoreLufthansa has already got a competitive Premium Economy seat, however the carrier saw it time to upgrade some of its fleet. While the ZIMmagic Premium Economy product from seat manufacturer ZIM already features on much of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet, the carrier has looked to both improve its product, and match the new Swiss Premium…
Read MoreLufthansa is utilising this time to trial new economy concept products. While it recently announced that in economy passengers on short-haul flights will now have to pay for dining and drink options, on the long-haul network the carrier is currently testing a new Economy Class seating concept called “Sleeper’s Row”. This product follows the likes…
Read MoreToday we were invited to see the grand official reveal of SWISS’ latest product in an arsenal of improvements over the past few years. While the airline started with a range of improvements to its ground product and older A340 fleet a few years ago, the airline’s new Premium Economy has been a few years…
Read MoreSWISS has now joined the ranks of its fellow Lufthansa Group airlines in offering Premium Economy, which will supplement its existing Economy, Business and First classes of travel from the fourth quarter of this year. Interestingly the airline has opted for a fixed-backshell seat which usually gets a bad rap for passenger comfort although it…
Read MoreAustrian Airlines has just launched an innovative 3D Seatmap as part of the booking process. While the technology is nothing new, the ability to use the platform as part of the booking and seat selection process, is. From now on, Austrian Airlines passengers on flights operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft can virtually discover their favorite…
Read MoreIt seems the week before Christmas brought a challenge from LOT Polish Airlines to Lufthansa regarding the German flag carrier’s somewhat contentious new livery. The Polish carrier draws issue with the fact Lufthansa’s reimagined tail fin has an uncanny resemblance to theirs. While we agree there are similarities, to our our trained eye, they are…
Read MoreI was lucky enough to be invited onboard Air New Zealand’s inaugural JFK-AKL flight in September, the 4th longest flight in the world. I’ve done similar trips such as Emirates A380 LAX-DXB flights, but there’s something more unfoundedly daunting about crossing swathes of Ocean. No human likes to be stuck in a confined space for…
Read MoreToday saw the official approval of Qantas’ long-awaited Project Sunrise, something that was postponed a few years due to COVID. With the announcement that the airline will order 12 A350-1000 aircraft capable of flying from Sydney direct to London and New York, which will see the longest and furthest flights in the world. But that…
Read MoreAward-winning Taiwanese carrier Starlux has just received its first of over a dozen new A350s, destined to start flying long-haul routes next year. As well as being the first carrier to have Airbus’ latest version of the XWB, which features an additional 4″ of internal width at the shoulder level and electronically tinted windows. While…
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 MoreBOAC is back! No, not really, but perhaps it should be. This simple yet stunning retrojet livery has been rolled out by British Airways to celebrate its centenary which it is enjoying this year. While the aircraft has been much-anticipated by avgeeks across the UK and further afield, the reveal wasn’t a disappointment. Large crowds…
Read MoreBritish Airways recently announced the retirement of its Elemis spas, one of the crowning unique features of their Heathrow lounges. Taking their place and replacing the older business centres – in a bid to offer something to passengers – is the new ’Forty Winks’ nap lounge, featuring power nap sleep pods. The new pods are…
Read MoreLast week saw a new brand partnership take its first steps between Adidas and Lufthansa. Last Friday, if you flew with the airline you might have seen a slightly more relaxed approach to the uniforms due to the airline – in a one-time-only event – allow crew to wear trainers. This was conveniently timed to…
Read MoreHangar 22 is Air New Zealand‘s moniker for its research lab, which has been working on the future of ultra-long haul cabins for no less than 5 years in a mirror effort to Qantas’s Project Sunrise. There’s good reason for Air New Zealand to invest heavily in a new product, as the airline will start…
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 MoreIn a world where everyone can now easily become a critic, navigating our way through the vast swathes of reviews can be daunting. After all, human nature dictates we will only ever comment on something exceptional. This is why ‘average’ reviews are rarely seen, with either excellent or scathing comments usually posted. Airlines are subject…
Read MoreCondor has started to bring back its own logo to the tails of its fleet. At the end of last week, the new design was unveiled to the employees, and the weekend saw the first Boeing 767 with the registration D-ABUF making its first flight in the new Condor look to Cancun in Mexico. In…
Read MoreWhile most people will be getting excited about the final instalment of the globally successful HBO franchise, 2019 will also see a range of new business class seats across the globe that will see the business class experience becoming more and more competitive with regards to the hard product on offer. With seat designers and…
Read MoreToday saw Lufthansa launch its new livery in an event in Cape Town. While many will probably like this new clean, monochromatic paint scheme, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed to see such an iconic livery be literally whitewashed. Sure, almost all liveries grow on us with time, but that doesn’t stop us…
Read MoreLufthansa have just opened their latest lounge, this one in Milan Malpensa. Serving their 7+ flights per day to Frankfurt and Munich, the lounge is certainly large enough at 550 square metres and featuring 117 seats. The new design concept certainly embraces a ‘cosy atmosphere’ as it states in its press release, with warmer tones…
Read MoreIt has been 21 years in the making, but SAS has just revealed a bold new livery for its aircraft that refreshes the current version with more depth, modernity and colour. The brand new visual identity and new design for its aircraft exterior is a refreshing take on a classic Scandinavian design. It “highlights the…
Read MoreA recent National Institute of Health report highlighted the length of time that different viral strains could possibly live on surfaces. Most of us have heard how a trace of Covid-19 can live on plastic and metal for up to three days (albeit ever reducing in strength), whereas copper and cardboard/paper are found to be…
Read MoreThe chances are by now if you travel around Europe, you’ve probably seen one of Brussels Airlines ‘Icon’ aircraft at some point over the past few years. After honouring Tintin in 2015, followed by Magritte, the Red Devils, Tomorrowland and the Smurfs, Brussels Airlines has just unveiled another Belgian Icon, a unique aircraft inspired by…
Read More2020 will see a new type of business class seat join Lufthansa’s fleet. Last week Lufthansa revealed its brand-new Business Class product that will be available with the roll-out of the Boeing 777-9. The new seat might look familiar, as it shares a lot of similarities with Acumen’s Optima seat design, which can also be found…
Read MoreSwiss has just opened its redesigned Lounge Centre A at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The new lounge complex, which is mainly aimed at short-haul travellers, includes a Business and a Senator Lounge. These follow the design of the First Class lounge which recently opened. Made up of series of zones with a range of privacy…
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 MoreRome has recently seen a wave of new and renovated lounges, including British Airways new lounge, Alitalia’s renovated lounge and now situated on the upper level of Boarding Zone D in Terminal 3, Star Alliance’s superbly designed space for their premium passengers . Designed by the Barcelona based team, Up to You Studio, the new Star Alliance…
Read MoreToday sees the opening of the latest Swiss lounge in Zurich, replacing the old First Class lounge in the A gates of Terminal 2, the new Alpine Lounge helps provide some respite to the Schengen departure swells due to the morning and evening flight banks. The airline has several lounges already across Zurich, and all…
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…
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