I’ve been saying for a while that Etihad has been repositioning itself as the leader of boutique carriers. In fact, an impromptu conversation in my hotel bar last night with two Emirati ladies reaffirmed this belief, who excitingly dubbed the carrier as more ‘exclusive and chic’ than its larger, brasher, blingier, counterparts. It seems today…
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While 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…
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Passenger 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…
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The news of a new narrow-body interior for a flag-carrier in South East Asia usually would usually find other carriers across the world become a little more nervous, as expectations of a premium passenger experience adds pressure to enhance their own offerings. We’ve seen in the past few years new flatbeds in Singapore Airlines narrowbodies,…
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Launched today in London’s still-trendy Shoreditch, Virgin Atlantic’s new A330neo product should indeed turn heads. Launching a brand new product across a small yet nimble fleet usually means that the product offering becomes increasingly fragmented, but actually the airline has stumbled upon better synergies than ever on its Transatlantic offering. Introduced on Virgin Atlantic’s 16…
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Hangar 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…
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Herringbone and forward-facing staggered business class seats? The catalogue available to airlines is now seemingly never-ending, and the latest Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg this week has revealed how the industry has never been more spoiled for choice. Two of the latest entrants in to the market have come from Safran dubbed ‘VUE’ and ‘Unity’.…
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Condor wowed us recently with a bold new brand image. Some of you might have already seen these bold stripey aircraft in the skies, which are certainly standing out on airport aprons. In fact, the intended purpose to generate interest and awareness of the brand is working, with many images popping up on social media,…
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Friday saw the announcement that KLM will finally introduce its own Premium Economy product, bringing the carrier in line with Air France, Delta and Virgin Atlantic, its strategic partners. Dubbed Premium Comfort Class, the product sits above its economy comfort product which is fundamentally an economy seat with a little more legroom, and below the…
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Today saw Air France reveal a brand new Business Class product that will start to grace its 777-300ERs. It also revealed an exciting new ‘brand video’ to impart the new Air France brand to its global audience. At the heart of this regeneration lies its new business class seat, which is entirely new, although it…
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Today saw the official approval of Qantas’ long-awaited Project Sunrise, something that was postponed a few years due to COVID. With the announcement that the airline will order 12 A350-1000 aircraft capable of flying from Sydney direct to London and New York, which will see the longest and furthest flights in the world. But that…
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Etihad has always been a challenger brand in the Middle East, even if it’s not the youngest of the carriers. Often shadowed by its much larger, blingier cousin Emirates, and self-styled luxury carrier Qatar Airways, Etihad has had a bigger hill to climb, either winning market share, or the hearts and wallets of this lucrative…
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As the world of wide-bodied cabin & seat design has reached a critical plateau, all eyes are turning to the new narrow-bodied long-haul market which will become an increasingly important part of point-to-point long-haul strategy in the months and years ahead. While the ‘Jet Set Era’ offered transcontinental flights on narrow-body aircraft decades ago, it…
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Today we were invited to see the grand official reveal of SWISS’ latest product in an arsenal of improvements over the past few years. While the airline started with a range of improvements to its ground product and older A340 fleet a few years ago, the airline’s new Premium Economy has been a few years…
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It’s rare to find innovation in Business Class products in the past few years. Since the likes of Singapore Airlines’ new monocoque seats and Qatar Airways QSuites, many carriers are opting to customise off the shelf products, which naturally bring tried-and-tested comfort, but will never advance the passenger experience the same way that a truly…
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Lufthansa has already got a competitive Premium Economy seat, however the carrier saw it time to upgrade some of its fleet. While the ZIMmagic Premium Economy product from seat manufacturer ZIM already features on much of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet, the carrier has looked to both improve its product, and match the new Swiss Premium…
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SAS has just revealed its photos of its new A321LR cabin. The transatlantic narrow body joins the carrier’s wide-body fleet in connecting the two continents, but trying to keep the same passenger experience touch-points across fundamentally different airframes was a difficult ask. While the airline sadly hasn’t been able to provide all aisle access, by…
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During ALTA Airline Leaders Forum 2021, an event hosted by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association in Bogota, Avianca presented three new seats that will be retrofitted across the carrier’s short- and medium-haul A320 fleet. The Premium, Plus and Economy seats were all designed by Recaro Aircraft Seating, with an innovative approach to…
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Taiwanese carrier China Airlines has just received its first A321neo passenger aircraft which heralds a new era in the airline’s narrow-body fleet. A total of 25 of these advanced Airbus aircraft will enter the fleet over the coming years, which will operate short-haul routes including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Cross-strait. The aircraft itself features…
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Today saw Singapore Airlines officially launch its highly-anticipated new 737 cabin products, which will be rolled out on its Boeing 737-8 fleet in the coming weeks. Since the airline merged SilkAir back in to Singapore Airlines, there’s been a lot of anticipation on how the airline can match its impressive long-haul product with a short…
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While details are scarce, it seems that according to one of FlyDubai’s latest posts, the airline is introducing a regional business class product, most likely to replace its older recline seats. While the airline has just hinted at the new product on social media, rather than a full announcement at this stage, it appears to…
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British Airways is continuing with the roll out of its newest business class seat, the ‘Club Suite’, as it continues to retrofit the seat across its Boeing 777 fleet, with the speedy roll out expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The airline has already retrofitted a handful of its Boeing 777 aircraft…
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Today saw Air France take delivery of its first Airbus A220-300, the company’s most modern aircraft in the fleet on its short and medium-haul network. The airline has been on a massive fleet renewal program since introducing the Airbus A350 on its long-haul network, and by 2025 it will have integrated the 60 A220-300s ordered…
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Air China has just announced it will bring a brand new Business Class seat to 10 of its A350s. While the carrier has a diverse selection of business class seats depending on which aircraft you are travelling on – the latest A350 seats might not be the most spacious, but they might just be the…
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Virgin Atlantic has just revealed its latest social space found on the final five A350’s that will be delivered for the carrier. Instead of ‘The Loft’ – the social space found on its first wave of A350’s – the last few Airbus aircraft to be delivered have been configured for the carrier’s leisure routes. This…
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AVIC Cabin Services is more than just AIM altitude and Thompson Aero Seating, however those will be more familiar names than Jiatai. However, it’s one company and part of the group not to be overlooked. Jiatai’s new JT220B Business Class and JT220E Economy Class seats are a result of the company’s strategy, supported by ACS,…
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Cathay Pacific is about to see the commercial take-off of its latest arrival, the A321neo. With the pandemic hitting at a pivotal time for the carrier, commercially things have been bittersweet. While passenger numbers have been decimated for 18-months, the regrowth of the airline can now be expedited by the addition of a new narrow-body…
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United Airlines, now profitable once again has firmly set its stall as a leading Passenger Experience airline, vying for market dominance through modern, comfortable cabins that give passengers what they want: more space, more entertainment and more choice. This is something we applaud and have been promoting as the right approach to winning over customer…
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SWISS has now joined the ranks of its fellow Lufthansa Group airlines in offering Premium Economy, which will supplement its existing Economy, Business and First classes of travel from the fourth quarter of this year. Interestingly the airline has opted for a fixed-backshell seat which usually gets a bad rap for passenger comfort although it…
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Tomorrow, Qatar Airways will see the first flight by its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner passenger aircraft, featuring its much anticipated new Adient Aerospace ‘Ascent’ Business Class Suite. The aircraft will operate on a number of key routes to Europe and Asia, starting with its Doha to Milan service followed by Doha to Athens, Barcelona, Dammam,…
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