I 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 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 MoreAir New Zealand is no stranger to alternative, promotional safety videos. Yet today they’ve launched their most restrained and geographically respectful video yet in partnership with Tourism New Zealand. Dubbed ‘Aotearoa, the 8th Wonder of the World’ the safety video is reflective of the current climate, helping support the domestic tourism industry. The video features the…
Read MoreAir New Zealand has a fairly unique proposition, offering daily ultra long-haul flights across the globe while catering to a home country with just half the population of London. As such, its had to innovate to remain at the top of it’s game, and has already rolled out products like the (short-lived) Premium Economy Spaceseat,…
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 MoreThere is good reason why Air New Zealand has recently won the Sustainable Business Leadership award at the Deloitte Top 200 awards in Auckland. It is constantly innovating in their small, but powerful community on the global stage. One of the best examples is how the airline is addressing the fact is serves more than…
Read MorePassenger seat rules and regulations regarding ergonomics haven’t really changed in decades. However, as a race, human’s have continued to evolve, and we’re getting larger and taller. This means economy seats and cabins once comfortable for passengers in the 1960’s are no longer viable for today’s traveller. In fact the CDC says between 1960 and…
Read MoreIt’s that time again, and while Air New Zealand had recently advertised for a job position of ‘Head of Safety Videos’ (perhaps one of the most sought-after jobs in the industry), the carrier has also just rolled out a new safety video, this time featuring the country’s most famous export, the All Blacks. All Blacks…
Read MoreThis month saw Qantas and Air New Zealand both launch new safety videos. While both have taken different approaches, the premise of celebrating their national heritage and importance in their market is what ties them together. Qantas Qantas, who is celebrating its centenary – no mean feat in the current aviation climate – takes a…
Read MoreBelieve it or not, Air New Zealand opened Pandora’s box approximately ten years ago, when it started creating safety videos that were a little extraordinary. From Richard Simmons and Betty White giving a star studded cast, or Lord of the Rings epic safety videos celebrating New Zealand’s roots to the film franchise. Many carriers followed…
Read MoreWith 10 million views in just two days on Youtube it’s clear that Singapore Airlines knows how to make a good advertising campaign. Titled ‘Welcome to World Class’, the campaign “reflects the Airline’s commitment to deliver an exceptional customer experience across the end-to-end travel journey,” as stated by the press release. However scratch the surface…
Read MoreIt’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 MoreTurkish Airlines has once again renewed its collaboration with one of the country’s most distinguished painters, Devrim Erbil. The artist’s work will be found on the carrier’s short-haul Business Class amenity kits for short-haul flights produced by Galileo Watermark. Erbil, one of the most important living representatives of Turkish contemporary art, is deeply influenced by…
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 MoreWhile 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 MoreEven non-aviation enthusiasts may have noticed that the skies look a little different today. As we head into another year since the pandemic first decimated commercial aviation, the large behemoth A380s and Queens of the skies – the Boeing 747 – are a rare sight at airports nowadays. Replaced by more economic and smaller long-haul…
Read MoreTheDesignAir was lucky enough to be invited to trial Condor’s brand new A330-900Neo ‘2-litre’ aircraft just a few months after it launched the shiny new plane to the world. Jumping at the chance, we wanted to explore in-depth the reasons why the airline won both best new livery and most improved airline brand 2022 last…
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 MoreNo1 Lounges seems to be getting deeper and deeper in to bed with airlines across the world, and has just launched its latest airport lounge partnership with Virgin Australia at Brisbane Airport’s International Terminal. This follows the opening of The House at Sydney and Melbourne in 2018 and their pre-existing partnership with Etihad. The new lounge…
Read MoreChristmas is well and truly upon us, and with that comes a wave of Festive Airline videos. Perhaps the funniest of these out there right now comes from social media savvy carrier Air New Zealand. Poking innocent fun of New Zealand’s particular accent, Santa struggles to understand the gift requests. Titled “A Very Merry Mistake”…
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 MoreTurkish Airlines’ latest safety video might have been released a few months ago, but it has already amassed over 9million views on YouTube. The safety video, which features the Lego Movie characters in a sequel to the airline’s initial safety video last year. While the video is still as captivating as the initial incarnation, featuring…
Read MoreAnother year, another safety video. Air New Zealand have brought a brand new aesthetic to their latest video, with both Katie Holmes and Cuba Gooding Jr. acting as ‘god like’ creators, presenting New Zealand as a destination that has to be experienced to be believed. “It’s a land of stunning beauty, magical places and friendly…
Read MoreJoon, the millennial airline by Air France has just launched a new hybrid economy product that will be music to young family’s ears. Four rows of the economy cabin will now be fitted with pairs of seats that can be converted in to beds for kids. This is almost the same as the Sky Couch…
Read MoreMeet Fakarava, recently rolled out of the paint shop. It’s Air Tahiti Nui’s first ‘Tahitian Dreamliner’ which will start flying for the carrier in November between New Zealand and Tahiti. It features a new livery concept by Futurebrand which stems from the rebrand from Tahitian Studio Alexander Lee. It could possibly be the most beautiful Dreamliner…
Read More“In the 50 years since Auckland Airport opened, how New Zealanders travel and where we travel to has changed significantly. At the same time Auckland’s airport has evolved and grown from only several hundred thousand passengers in 1966 to over 18.7 million this year,” says Auckland Airport Chief Executive, Adrian Littlewood. Interestingly most of that…
Read MoreWhile it might be a few more months before The Lego Movie 2: The Second part hits the big screen, but prior to the release Turkish Airlines has literally built its latest safety from the ground up – brick by brick. So Emmet, Wyldstyle and the rest of the gang have decided to put their…
Read MoreMost people probably remember when Airbus first launched their A380, there was talk about the cargo area being used as an onboard lounge, retail unit or even a restaurant for passengers. Naturally, like many things in aviation, these ideas gradually disappeared and practicality took over. Gone the ideas of having a large retail unit, when…
Read MoreAmerican Airlines is the latest airline to introduce branded bedding to the skies of North America. Beginning in December, AA customers seated in long-haul international and transcontinental First or Business class and Premium Economy can enjoy a suite of advanced sleep offerings designed by Casper’s award-winning engineering team. The Casper line of sleep products will…
Read MoreJust in time for New York Fashion Week, Etihad Airways has launched a fashion inspired promptional video starring 17 couture designs from renowned British designer Julien Macdonald. Etihad has also partnered with BMW, IWC Schaffhausen and IMG Models to bring the spectacle together. Etihad draws comparisons between the preparation behind fashion shows and preparing an…
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