Hot Airport Hotel: YOTELAIR Istanbul

Situated in the heart of Istanbul International Airport is a little secret that perhaps everyone should know about. Thanks to Istanbul’s virtually exhaustive list of destinations, it might be that your connecting flight is more than just a few hours away. If you aren’t lucky enough to enjoy an airport lounge, or Turkish Airlines’ connection…

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American Express opens new Centurion Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3

With today’s announcement, American Express opens yet another Centurion Lounge this year, at London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Located in Terminal 3. This will be the brand’s first Centurion Lounge in Europe but American Express’ third Centurion Lounge to open this year. It’s no small lounge either. Spanning over 7,000 square feet (650 square meters), the…

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Plaza Premium expands footprint in UK by taking over Virgin Atlantic’s Gatwick lounge

It might look familiar, but that’s for good reason. Plaza Premium Group has just opened its latest lounge at London Gatwick Airport, taking over the space that was originally a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. This take-over reinforces the Group’s strategic presence in the United Kingdom and increases its foothold across the rest of Europe to six…

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Plaza Premium opens second lounge in South America, this time in Sao Paulo

Plaza Premium Group has announced its plans for its second foray in to the South American market, this time in Sao Paulo. The opening of Plaza Premium’s latest lounge in mid-September in Brazil’s Guarulhos International Airport Terminal 2 is apparently just one more step on the brand’s ambition to open more lounges in the future…

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Air France opens Jouin Manku designed lounge for CDG’s Schengen travellers

Air France has just opened an exciting new lounge space dedicated to Business Class travellers and Flying Blue Elite Plus members travelling through the airline’s short and medium-haul Schengen network. It’s no small affair, as this lounge is one of the airline’s largest, with a surface area of no less than 3,000 sq. m. catering to 570 seats…

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Air France unveils brand new lounge at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport

Today saw the opening of the fully redesigned Air France lounge at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. In association with the Plaza Premium Group, the airline now offers its Business and Flying Blue Elite Plus customers a large, elegant and welcoming space, in an iteration of the new ground product design for Air France.…

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Manchester’s renovated Terminal 2 reopens, and it’s a huge improvement

July saw the very first passengers travelling through Manchester’s Airport’s new terminal extension, marking a major milestone in the Northern gateway’s 83-year history. Work started on the transformation in 2017 and – despite a delay of more than one year to the opening as a result of the pandemic – the facility was officially opened…

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Delta opens new Sky Club in Fort Lauderdale, one of the first to re-introduce hot food options

Today marks the opening of Delta’s brand new Delta Sky Club situated in Terminal 2 of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. It is part of a multi-year multi-million dollar renovation project at the airport. The space is clearly designed for a post-COVID world, with soaring floor-to-ceiling windows with runway views, thoughtful interior touches and artwork from…

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British Airways swaps spas for sleep pods, but was it the right decision?

British 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…

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Virgin Australia launches new Adelaide Lounge with new brand image

The aviation landscape in Australia may have shifted quite dramatically over the past few months, with new regional entrant Rex looking to take on Qantas on the main Melbourne – Sydney shuttle route and Virgin Australia re-emerging as a mid market carrier, and there’s even talk that Qantas isn’t taking project Sunrise off the table…

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Gulf Air moves home to its brand new terminal in Bahrain, with new ground experience

Gulf Air today moved its operations to the brand new terminal in Bahrain’s International Airport in Manama. The new terminal couldn’t be more different than its predecessor, as it is awash with light thanks to its huge picture windows and high ceilings. With the new terminal, comes new ground experiences for passengers, including brand new…

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Sky-high ambitions. Will airport roofs see greater utilisation post-Covid?

Throughout 2020, we’ve seen the great efforts airlines have made to quickly adapt the passenger experience from check-in all the way through to onboard. However, airports across the world have also had to play a part in enhancing social distancing and help space out the flow of passengers throughout terminals and gate areas. Luckily, both…

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Ho Chi Minh’s newest super-hub airport Long Thanh, in Vietnam starts construction

Situated approximately 40kms from Ho Chi Minh City Centre, the latest super-hub airport in Asia last week commenced construction, with an estimated first phase completion in 2025. The Long Thanh International Airport is one of the most interesting new airport developments globally right now, and reflects the relatively huge upswing in air travel to and…

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A purr-fect new addition to CDG

Even in the midst of a pandemic, Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has continued to update its terminals in a bid to remain a competitive hub for international travellers in 2021 and beyond. The new departure lounge in Halle L of Terminal 2E at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport has just opened to the public.…

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London City Airport’s latest brand positioning might help it in a post-COVID world

Back in late 2017, London City Airport went through a new branding exercise that introduced a softer, lifestyle approach stripping away its hard-faced business image that reflected the city worker demographic looking to hop to and from Europe, New York and the rest of the UK. Brought to life by The Allotment, the new brand…

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Malaysia Airlines and Heathrow showcase hygiene measures

Yesterday saw Malaysia Airlines, in partnership with Heathrow Airport, host a tour for a select few –including TheDesignAir – to see first-hand and experience the health and safety procedures that have been introduced to ensure that passengers have a safer and comfortable journey from their arrival at the airport through to reaching their destination. We…

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WestJet opens new ‘Elevation’ lounge in Calgary. A Flagship lounge aimed at cementing the airline’s design credentials

WestJet might not be the first brand that comes to mind when announcing a new Flagship lounge considering its half-dozen fleet of long-haul aircraft. But the airline is certainly looking to craft a niche for itself as the airline of choice for Canadian travellers. Dubbed ‘Elevation’, WestJet’s new lounge in Calgary spans more than 9,300…

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Sharjah 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…

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American Express opens 13th lounge in JFK’s Terminal 4

American Express has just opened its new lounge in JFK, and with more than 15,000 square feet behind its doors, the new space is the largest Centurion Lounge yet and the first with two floors to explore. Naturally, because of the current travel climate, it hasn’t opened quite as the designers had originally envisaged it,…

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Delta welcomes first guests in Salt Lake City’s brand new Sky Club

With Salt Lake City International Airport recently opening its latest terminal, Delta – the largest of airlines operating from SLC – has also opened its largest Delta Sky Club with guests able to enjoy the new space from today. Covering just over 28,000 square feet, the new Club celebrates the area’s famous mountainous landscape while…

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Plaza Premium opens very first lounge in the USA, situated in DFW’s E Terminal

Plaza Premium has just opened its latest and first lounge in the US, situated in Dallas Fort Worth. The lounge joins the brand’s meet and greet ‘Allways’ service that has been in operation in Dallas for the past year. While it’s the first in the USA, it’s the brand’s 18th lounge in the Americas, joining…

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Amaala unveils new airport design, representing a desert mirage.

Amaala, a luxurious destination located along Saudi Arabia’s northwestern coast, has just unveiled plans for a new international airport, with a design inspired by the optical illusion of a desert mirage which will act as a striking entry point to many International visitors. There’s good reason the terminal might look somewhat familiar, it’s been imagined…

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LaGuardia’s transformation breathes new life (and light) in to the airport

Yesterday saw the opening of the brand-new Terminal B Arrivals and Departures Hall at LaGuardia Airport, the biggest milestone to date in the airport’s ongoing $8 billion transformation into a 21st century airport. The project – one of the largest public private partnerships in aviation history – includes the demolition and replacement of every terminal…

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ANA makes huge improvements to passenger experience in Haneda, including Kengo Kuma inspired lounges

The end of the month will see ANA welcome the addition of a range of new services at Haneda Airport Terminal 2’s international area. The airline has invested in passenger enhancements across the terminal including three new lounges, self-service baggage drops and enhanced security check procedures. While we won’t be seeing these bursting at the…

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Plaza Premium opens new departures lounge in Sydney International Airport

Sydney’s International Terminal has just welcomed a brand new pay-for lounge for departing passengers. The new Plaza Premium Lounge, situated opposite Gate 25 of Pier B is the brand’s third addition in Australia joining locations in Melbourne and Brisbane. It’s the latest of a wave of lounges being opened by the brand, which now boasts over…

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Tampa International Airport becomes home to a series of art installations including a rather large, hungry flamingo

In the hunt to be instagram-friendly, airports are increasingly installing large-scale artworks to delight passengers and become memorable parts of the passenger experience. After all, Sacramento has its rabbit. Denver has its mustang and further afield, Doha has it’s well documented teddy bear/desk lamp combo. Perhaps in a less likely location, Tampa has announced it…

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New lounge in Paris CDG underway for Air France, brought to life by Jouin Manku

Air France and Paris Aéroport are underway in constructing a new lounge in Charles De Gaulle’s 2F terminal, used for its Schengen departures. Due to be complete by the end of the year, the lounge will be brought to fruition by a brand new creative design studio, infamous for its work with Alain Ducasse, Van Cleef…

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Qatar Airways opens new lounge in Singapore Changi Airport

Qatar Airways officially opened its new Premium Lounge at Singapore Changi Airport at Terminal 1, and wanted to show it some love, opening it on Valentines Day, this month.According to the airline, the new Singapore lounge “serves as the benchmark and blueprint for Qatar Airways’ future Premium Lounges worldwide,” however it features many of the…

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Cathay has a fairly unique challenge, and is acting pro-actively, but it is it making the right choices to maintain its brand values?

Unlike other media-outlets focussing on the airline industry we make a point to never really comment on short-lived, political or click-bait style news. We focus our approach on the long-lasting customer experience advancements, but Hong Kong has created a unique global environment over the past couple of years, built on political unrest and now the…

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Plaza Premium opens new lounge in Dubai

Plaza Premium has just opened its doors in Dubai International Airport, allowing Emirates (and FlyDubai) passengers – not qualifying for its expansive lounges – a new place to relax and unwind before their next flight. It’s not a small lounge either. With space for over 300 guests it’s the largest independent pay-per-use airport lounge at…

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