Malaysia Airlines this week unveiled its first A330-300 aircraft fitted with brand new fully-flat Business Class seats. The new seats have just starting flying on the Kuala Lumpur – Sydney route. As we reported back in November, Malaysia Airlines new Business Class seat is a great step up from the current angle lie-flat seats, although the layout doesn’t provide…
Read More
The modular nature of an aircraft interior fit out always used to bug the OCD in us. Window panels and overhead bins not aligning, PSUs not perfectly spaced. Lavatories and cupboards that jutted at awkward non-sensical dimensions from the cabin walls. However, we have found our Zen here at TheDesignAir, in the form of Airbus’s…
Read More
JAL today announced a new cabin enhancement for their 777-200ER fleet which would ‘raise the bar one class above in all cabin services” according to a press release from the carrier today. The brand new business class dubbed “JAL Sky Suite 777 (SS2)” will launch on the Tokyo Haneda – Bangkok route from July 2016.…
Read More
Today saw the unveiling of Brussels Airlines second special livery from a Belgian artistic icon. This time it was René Magritte whose likeness was brought to life on an A320 for the Belgian carrier. Following in the footsteps of Rackham, the Tintin aircraft that the Belgian airline unveiled last year, “Magritte” will grace the skies for an…
Read More
As of today, passengers flying on Delta’s International business class ‘Delta One’ will be laying back in their own sleep suits on flights between Seattle and Shanghai, Detroit and Shanghai, Seattle and Beijing, Detroit and Beijing, and Seattle and Hong Kong. Launching a similar product to that found on sister airline Virgin Atlantic, the new sleep suits, available in small/medium…
Read More
If you are lucky enough to fly with Air France in La Première (First Class) or Business Class from selected US cities in the next 12 months, you will be treated to a brand new menu from Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud. In 2015, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants gave Daniel Boulud the ‘Diners Club Lifetime Achievement…
Read More
China Airlines, one of our new favourite carriers, has just announced it will be upgrading it’s European routes of Amsterdam, Rome and Vienna with the new A350 aircraft which it is set to receive within a couple of months. Not only China Airlines roll out the new metal on the routes, it has made all…
Read More
Today saw the grand reveal of Emirates new business class seats at the ITB fair in Berlin. The seats, which will be rolled out in November on the airline’s new 777-300ER aircraft, will replace the carrier’s now ageing angle lie-flat seats (although there are no plans to retrofit the seats on current aircraft. We covererd…
Read More
3rd March saw the arrival of Singapore Airlines‘ new A350 airframe to Changi airport. Aviation fans celebrating the arrival which pulled onto stand with a traditional water cannon salute. But the first of 67 A350’s for the carrier signals more than just the arrival of a new aircraft, it’s about renewing the airline’s fleet with some of…
Read More
It’s no surprise that Emirates has finally announced that it is set to unveil its new Business Class seat for its Boeing new 777 aircraft at ITB Berlin, the international travel trade show which takes place in just a couple of days time. After just launching the world’s longest route on a 777 from Dubai to Auckland,…
Read More
Saudia this week received their first two 787-9 Dreamliners which is scheduled to start passenger operation in February. The new interiors are designed by Honour Branding, who also worked as part of the Etihad Design Consortium that brought the Etihad 787-9 Dreamliners to life (the only other Middle East carrier to currently operate the model).…
Read More
Starting this month passengers on XiamenAir may notice they are being served by cabin crew wearing entirely new threads. The new uniforms for men will join the women’s uniforms that were launched May last year. Designed by famous Taiwanese fashion designer Jamei Chen, the new male uniforms for include off tailored silhouettes that hark back to the JetSet…
Read More
SWISS is the latest airline to take delivery of a brand new 777-300ER and yesterday they showed off the new aircraft to members of the media. Our reporter Sven Hennig was there to take a look at what we think is the latest ‘designer’ aircraft interior by London based Priestmangoode. In total, Swiss International Air Lines will…
Read More
Today, JetBlue showed off the first renderings of their restyled cabin which “will enhance the JetBlue experience to meet the needs of travellers today”, including a greater focus on connectivity, comfort, and space. This marks JetBlue’s first complete redesign of the interiors on its A320 fleet since it launched in 2000 and the differences, while perhaps…
Read More
TAP Portugal today hinted at a brand new future for their long haul fleet, based on two new A330 aircraft that will join the fleet. It is fairly easy to distill as the future vision of the rest of the long haul fleet. Visuals released yesterday match the exact photos used by Azul to showcase…
Read More
JAL today announced a wave of improvements to their fleet and flight frequencies that will reach both domestic and international skies in 2016. The wave of improvements include the addition of premium economy to a host of destinations, expanding their current JAL Sky Suite aircraft and the introduction of a regional business class product to their new…
Read More
2015 has been an impressive year with many carriers taking advantage of the lowered oil prices to invest heavily into their passenger experience both on the ground and in the air. We take a look at the best carriers around the world that have caught our attention this year. We offer a retrospective of the…
Read More
Garuda Indonesia has appointed International transport design specialist, JPA Design to create its new aircraft cabin interiors as the airline expands its fleet and builds on its reputation as a world-class carrier. The same design agency that created the DoveTail business class seat (as shown above) and recently Singapore Airlines new Premium Economy Class seat. Garuda’s new…
Read More
Flight: CI061 (Westbound) and CI062 (Eastbound) Aircraft Type: B777-300ER Class: Premium Business Class Route: FRA-TPE-FRA Date: November 2015 http://www.china-airlines.com China Airlines has really managed to wow the world with their ‘Next Generation’ program. The airline has won not just one but three awards at the Global Traveler Awards, including best business class seat design. It’s also…
Read More
American Airlines have announced they will be the first US carrier to introduce a ‘true’ Premium Economy on its international wide-body fleet. Premium Economy will be available in late 2016, and will offer a new class of service directly behind Business Class, providing an enhanced product offering compared to the Main Cabin. This new international-standard product…
Read More
On December 5th, Alitalia welcomed its first new medium haul interior to match the new styling found in the airline’s long haul cabins. This starts the major cabin refurbishment of Alitalia’s short and medium fleet of 96 aircraft has begun with the project earmarked for completion by April next year. On average four aircraft are going to…
Read More
For the sixth consecutive year, Alitalia has scooped best inflight cuisines in the skies according to the Global Traveler Awards 2015. We aren’t surprised by this announcement, as we were blown away by the cuisine found on a recent trip report which excelled on every level. Since their partnership with Etihad, the service offering has been improved…
Read More
Emirates last week announced that all new 777-300ER and A380 deliveries will be outfitted with enhanced IFE screens and technology, allowing passengers to flick through a massive 4,300 hours of entertainment. That is virtually half a year non-stop of watching a TV, meaning it is practically impossible to watch the whole entertainment offering, even if…
Read More
Malaysia Airlines, in a bid to attract a new wave of flyers to its aircraft, unveiled its new A330-300 Business Class seats at the World Travel Market in London this week. The new seats, which will be introduced in April 2016, will see all 15 A330-300 aircrafts fitted with the new configuration by September 2016.…
Read More
2015 has been an impressive year for the aviation industry, with many carriers pulling up their socks and vying for the all-elusive lucrative passenger. With oil-prices lower than before, airlines are snapping at the opportunity to revisit their products, launch new aircraft and impress their paying consumers. This means one thing, a better experience for…
Read More
Azul 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 More
Etihad, one of our favourite carriers here at TheDesignAir has just announced it will start daily A380 services between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne on 1 June 2016. Replacing the current 777 operating the flights EY460/461, the new A380 service will take over one of the airline’s twice daily Abu Dhabi-Melbourne services, bringing not only the upgraded versions of…
Read More
Japanese carrier ANA have been having some fun with their 787 recently, both playing Star Wars with some avid sci-fi aficionados and also launching their new Brussels flight with a 787 service. On October 17, 2015, the R2-D2 ANA JET Fan Appreciation Flight event was held at Haneda Airport. A total of 91 passengers were selected—42 chosen from…
Read More
Watch out Fiji Airways, there is a new boutique airline vying for the attention of the Pacific. Hawaiian Airlines today revealed their plans to install a brand new lie-flat first class (or International business class) product that matches international business class standards. We are thrilled, as finally Hawaiian have concreted their position as the true owner of…
Read More
Move over Emirates and Panama City, there’s a new ultra-long-haul flight on the horizon. Announced yesterday, Singapore Airlines has signed an agreement to be the launch customer for a new ultra-long-range variant of the Airbus A350 aircraft, enabling the resumption of non-stop flights between Singapore and the United States replacing the carrier’s older A340-500 services that…
Read More