We have been pretty impressed by Plaza Premium‘s latest few lounges, and this new lounge, announced for London Heathrow’s Terminal 2 is no exception to their rule. The latest lounge, which open on June 4th, the same day the terminal opens, will be Hong Kong based Plaza Premium’s first venture in Europe. The innovative lounge has been designed…
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Back in late February China Southern took delivery of its first 777-300ER. In March 2014 it started flying to Shanghai from Guangzhou and now is commencing flights to NYC. The new aircraft features the latest cabin designs for the carrier which in our estimation has lifted the carrier to a world class competitor. With a…
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Today (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…
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Etihad 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…
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We love ANA and their constant reinvention of their inflight product. The latest news, of the unveiling of their new flight attendant and customer service uniforms, is a welcome sight. Created by New York fashion designer Prabal Gurung, whose designs have been worn by First Lady Michelle Obama, the Duchess of Cambridge and Lady Gaga, the uniforms reflect…
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Recently there have been a few new amenity kits surfacing around the world, with Qantas and JAL recently releasing their kits. We take a look at two of the latest. Long gone are the cheap plastic looking bags. Airlines have invested heavily into beautiful keepsakes that will last for years. By partnering with some of the…
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Now I was lucky enough to be given the heads up by Andrew Humphreys, the Editorial Director of my old company Ink Global, about a project the company had successfully completed for their client Norwegian Airlines. When Design Director at Ink, I championed out-of-the-box thinking and it’s this kind of project (currently onboard Norwegian), where…
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We 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…
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With the recent arrival (end of last year) of its first Boeing 787 up to a total of 19, Aeromexico become the first airline in Mexico and the number 14th around the world to operate the aircraft. Aeromexico are proud of their 787, which will now operate on the flagship London Heathrow route. With the new arrival…
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If you have been travelling recently on our favourite Finnish airline to Japan over the past couple of weeks you may have seen a myriad of Kimonos adorning the cabin crew designed by none-other than Marimekko. The reason? To celebrate the Japanese Cherry Blossom “Sakura”, a season in Japan that brings in a huge influx of…
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The launch of the new Terminal 2 at London’s Heathrow Airport has given some airlines the perfect excuse to design new lounges and configure the passenger experience for the more “modern” traveller. A prime example of this, is with United’s new United Club and Global First Lounges, that quite frankly, are surprisingly stunning. Interestingly, United…
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Revealed at Hamburg’s Aircraft Interiors Expo this year, American showcase their new interiors for the current 777-200 fleet, designed to match the new look 777-300 aircraft already flying with the airline. The retrofit is scheduled to commence later this year. There are a few changes though, especially with a new look customised business class seat, which whilst close…
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What can you do if you had 5 days, 12 painters and 350 litres of paint. Well, if you are Air New Zealand you could paint your new 787-9 in an ‘All Black’ paint job. Our favourite of the airline’s two new livery designs, this black beauty is well proportioned and striking to look at, With…
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Sometimes we come across a beautiful redesign that really is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the industry, and this small airline in North Eastern Canada is by far a small diamond in the rough. Where some airlines with a small regional network can wisely invest into making sure their ageing fleet is…
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We love it when a partnership can learn from each other. It seems the new strategic partnership of Virgin Atlantic and Delta are helping each other out. The airlines recently announced that some Delta flights on key business routes (London to New York-JFK, London to Boston, and the new London to Seattle) are now utilising London Heathrow’s Terminal…
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JPA Design have released the latest lounge project images for Air China, the same time they announce they will be designing the interiors for the carriers new 787s. The new lounge is set over two floors at Shanghai, Pudong Airport and good news for frequent fliers, as it is a member of the International Star…
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China Airlines, once the quieter of the Asian airline fraternity, has decided 2014 is the year it comes out and shows the world what it is made of. The airline, whose mainline long haul fleet currently features older 747’s and A340’s and newer A330s, has placed orders for brand new modern 777s and A350s, which…
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Thai 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…
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Who? Well, to be honest, we hadn’t heard of them before either, shame on us! Welcome to the freshly released image for Epic Air, a new airline for Bangladesh, who aims to start flying commercially in the latter part of 2014. The livery titled ‘The Colours of Change’ has been designed by long running Seattle-based Teague,…
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Now we love a good amenity kit here at thedesignair.net. It seems that every airline has tied in with another brand, Emirates and Bvlgari, Cathay Pacific and Jurlique and British Airways and Elemis. However, Japan Airlines has showcased their new amenity kits by none-other than super-cool Spanish brand Loewe. Only available in first class, the…
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LATAM have just exclusively announced a brand new look for their short haul and long haul cabins, being rolled out on their Airbus A320 family aircraft and new 787-9 and A350 fleet. This is the first real sign of unification between the two airlines, who have been working together since 2012. Conceived by Priestmangoode, the new domestic…
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Coinciding with the recent terminal’s expansion, Japan Airlines have revealed their brand new Haneda International Airport Lounges in Tokyo set to open March 30th 2014. The airline has enlarged the area of the original Sakura Lounge by about 2.5 times. There are now 314 seats in the main hall and 271 seats in the “Sky View” terrace…
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Korean Air today released details (and just a couple of photos) of their brand new Business Class (Prestige) and First Class Lounge at Los Angeles’ TBIT Terminal. Not only is it accessible for passengers flying on the two A380 flights a day back to Incheon, but also to the twenty SkyTeam airlines (plus Emirates whilst their…
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Finnair, one of Scandinavia’s biggest carriers, celebrated it’s 90th anniversary of flights yesterday. On March 20th 1924, the airline operated a Junkers F.13 float plane from Helsinki to Tallin, Estonia. Since then, the airline has grown to an airline carrying just under 10 million passengers a year, with a fleet of 44 jet aircraft, to four of…
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Flight: EK216 Aircraft Type: A380-800 Class: Business Class Route: LAX-DXB Date: February 2014 http://www.emirates.com Best for: Luxury long haul explorers wanting all the trimmings. Most likely to sit next to: Either your partner or no-one thanks to their staggered seating. But this is ex-pat country, with many international travellers currently based in the UAE on business. Business or pleasure: Well the A380 is…
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Over the past few years, thedesignair.net team based in London have seen the 1955 version of Terminal 2 get knocked down and rebuilt ready for 2014, and its now starting to become one of the best examples of terminal architecture the UK have seen for a while. They say the devil is in the detail,…
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We all love a fashion show, and whilst this may not be the first airline to run a fashion show in the sky (we think Sky Europe were the first to do that in the modern Era), it certainly is the first to do a retrospective of their uniforms through the years. This was part…
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Priestmangoode, UK based design firm have just revealed their fantastic new interiors for South African Airways latest short haul Airbus fleet. The studio worked in collaboration with The Brand Union, Johannesburg, South Africa, a brand consultancy, to develop a new brand identity and experience for the leading African airline. Kim Thipe, Head of Marketing at South African Airways…
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Just to prove you don’t need to be a designer airline to have a designer lounge, Plaza Premium Lounge (who we covered recently, with their launch of their new lounge in Hong Kong), the world’s leading Airport Lounge provider announced the launch of its Airport Premium Services at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (Bangalore). The independant company…
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Qatar Business Class Over the past few weeks, Qatar Airways have announced a variety of new and upgraded products to add to their fleet. As their fleet has continued to grow, the airline has constantly invested into their onboard product, with such a variety of different aircraft, the business class product can vary dramatically, but…
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