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 MoreStar Alliance has officially completed the refurbishment of its seventh branded lounge, first opened 11 years ago at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. At 980 square metres the lounge offers seating for just over 220 guests and takes influence from Parisian design and architecture. Muted greys, parquet flooring and stylish seating creates another residential approach, reflecting the…
Read MoreWhile 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 MoreLast month saw Air Tahiti Nui unveil its unique, French Polynesian-inspired crew uniforms. The uniforms complete the passenger experience which includes the previous introduction of the 787 to the airline’s fleet. Air Tahiti Nui’s crew debuted the new uniforms at an event on June 20, 2019 in Paris Le Bourget. The uniforms which refine the previous…
Read MoreNow celebrating it’s one year Anniversary, the Kempinski Hotel in Muscat is one of the hottest opening’s in Oman’s capital city, Muscat. Situated in the prestigious Al Mouj district, just a short drive from the airport, it’s slightly away from the central Muscat area but benefits from a quiet beach, nearby marina and majestic views…
Read MoreThai Airways International has just welcomed a brand new 787-9 to its fleet. The first of its type for the carrier, the new, elongated model joins Thai’s six 787-8’s that are already flying for the carrier. The aircraft isn’t just a stretch version of the current cabin products however, as the carrier has introduced a…
Read MoreFlight: UL506 Aircraft Type: A330-300 Class: Business Class Route: LHR-CMB Date: February 2018 http://www.srilankan.com SriLankan Airlines recently added two daytime flights per week from London to Colombo, flying on Saturdays and Sundays, providing better connections and more convenient departure times. This now makes the airline even more attractive to passengers looking for one-stop carriers between London and the Maldives, Sri…
Read MoreFlight: TG911 Aircraft Type: A380-800 Class: ‘Royal Silk’ Business Class Route: LHR-BKK Date: June 2016 http://www.thaiairways.com We were lucky enough to fly on Thai Airways almost twenty years ago, one of our first long haul flights as a kid, and since then, the airline has always stuck in our hearts. We remember orchid flowers being distributed to passengers and that…
Read MoreHave you ever wondered what involvement the airline alliance has in the design language adopted by their airlines? With the rise the alliance-friendly terminal, such as Heathrow’s Terminal 2, we talk to Julie Murphy, Star Alliance’s Chair in the UK about design and customer experience. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, can…
Read MoreRegular visitors of TheDesignAir may know that we are big fans of the Soneva Group. We’ve also been lucky enough to experience all three properties. While Soneva is the equivalent to Singapore Airlines in the hotel world, the group only has three very exclusive properties around the world (plus a private yacht for aquatic adventure lovers).…
Read MoreAt ITB Yesterday, Qatar Airways proudly launched its much anticipated new Business Class product. It has certainly impressed the public with its claims to have the world’s first double bed in business class, new sharing plate concept, sliding doors for privacy and large communal area for families of four. Don’t get us wrong, we are…
Read MoreThis year will see a wave of business class seats that resemble First Class more than ever before. Qatar Airways is introducing the new QSuite this month, Delta is introducing their new private business class suites and United has already rolled out their new business class product featuring all aisle access and fully flat seats.…
Read MoreFirst, let us start by saying, we welcome – nay applaud – investment into a new Club World product for British Airways. The past few months and steerage of new CEO Alex Cruz has seen consistent cuts to the product, at a time when it needed serious investment. Ticket prices have been constantly higher than…
Read MoreOver the next three months, Air France customers will be able to enjoy new culinary delights from both Régis Marcon in La Première class and Guy Martin in Business class on board long-haul flights departing from Paris CDG. Régis Marcon for La Première Air France is famous for its haute-cuisine available on long haul flights.…
Read MoreAzul Brazilian Airlines, arguably the most modern of the Brazilian carriers, launched their new A330 cabins this October, including Azul Xtra (a fully fledged business class cabin), Economy Xtra (including the infamous Sky Sofa product) and their standard Economy cabin. Now flying to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale (Miami) from Sao Paulo’s Viracopos airport, Azul’s A330s will eventually…
Read MoreYou may not have heard of Formia, as they hide behind the behemoth brands they work with, however that may be about to change. This powerful (and award-winning) company manages to partner brands together to offer their passengers the very best in amenities. 2015 has brought a wealth of new luxury partnerships, and a new…
Read MoreOpen today, Cathay Pacific passengers travelling out of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport are in for a treat. Located at Level 3 in the Concourse G Departure Hall, Cathay’s Bangkok lounge adopts the airline’s new lounge design template that has already been employed at Cathay Pacific lounges in Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Manila. Measuring in at 679…
Read MoreBombardier announced today, their latest purchaser of the new CS100 aircraft was a start-up airline flymojo, based out of Johor Bahru, Johor and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Just across the straits from Singapore, the airline has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the sale and purchase of 20 CS100 aircraft with options for an additional 20 CS100 aircraft. “Born of…
Read MoreFlight: BA073 Aircraft Type: B787-9 Class: ‘First’ First Class Route: LHR-AUH-MCT Date: January 2016 http://www.ba.com We were curious last year to see how British Airways new First product on their 787-9 were going to reinvent the first class experience, but when we had the chance to experience the product first-hand (forgive the pun) we jumped at the chance to see why…
Read MoreThai Airways may have had the current staggered Sogerma Solstys seat arrangement on their 777 for a little while now, but the airline has finally invested into created a more customised and exquisite cabin concept. Designed by Priestmangoode, this is the 3rd announcement in as many weeks for the UK based consultancy. This is an extension of a larger…
Read MoreWe are introducing a new Top 10 this month. One of the most diverse categories, ‘Low Cost Carrier Brands’ is now getting the recognition it rightfully deserves. Traditionally speaking, the low-cost model is only three decades old, and has grown up fast. The once ‘bare-essentials’ image that these carriers used to have, has now evolved into intuitive, modern and…
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 MoreIt’s that time again, and the judges have voted for their Top 10 Liveries for 2014. Each year the judges sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark. This year some familiar faces return, and some get booted out of the top 10, and there are even a…
Read MoreFlight: SQ319 Aircraft Type: B777-300ER Class: ‘New’ Business Class Route: LHR-SIN Flight time: 12:34 Seat: 15F Date: May 2015 http://www.singaporeair.com Best for: Solos and Couples doesn’t matter, this carrier is great for business, but also those wanting to experience luxury travel. The crowd: Mainly English or Antipodean travellers, with most connecting on to luxury beach or city breaks. An older more sophisticated set. Business or…
Read MoreWhen you hear ‘sustainable tourism’, let’s be honest, you wouldn’t picture yourself in a luxurious villa like the one above. However, we explored the finer side of the latest travel buzz-word in one of Thailand’s best hotels. Welcome to this month’s Hot Hotel, Soneva Kiri. The latest of the Soneva hotels to open, and still an established…
Read MoreFlight: AY0077 Aircraft Type: A330-300 Class: Business Class Route: HEL-KIX Date: November 2014 http://www.finnair.com Best for: Affordable, one stop flights to a whole host of Asian destinations. Most likely to sit next to: Designers, Architects and super cool Asian-techie travellers. Business or pleasure: The flight times are perfect for business travellers, however, with no WiFi, this is the perfect place to unwind and recharge…
Read MoreWe were lucky enough to be invited to the official press unveiling of Heathrow’s brand new Terminal today, and the launch of the new ‘SlipStream‘ Artwork by Richard Wilson, which sits proudly in front of the building in a covered walkway connecting the rest of Heathrow and Terminal 2’s new car park to the…
Read MoreHere at TheDesignAir, our team of expert judges have looked at the liveries around the world this year and have come up with our Top 10 liveries for 2013. Whilst we have some great looking airlines from last year’s Top 10 still appearing in the list this year, there are some great new liveries that are…
Read MoreWhilst this image of the freshly painted Thai A380 might not generate a huge fanfare of a reaction, it is within that reasoning I feel Thai have got their paintjob of the A380 absolutely right. Comparing the image of the A380 to the 747 below you’ll see a few minor, but very clever changes. The…
Read MoreThai Airways have launched their new subsidiary Thai Smile this week, the new ‘pseudo’ low cost wing of Thai Airways following a mantra of “Trendy-Friendly-Worthy”. Commencing operations on July 1st, they will be operating a fleet of 4 A320’s. This new airline will focus on short haul destinations from Bangkok to Asia and India. This…
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