This week saw the announcement of Austrian Airlines’s new Premium Economy cabin product. Starting right now, passengers can book a seat in the new travel class for flights starting on March 6, 2018. While nothing particularly groundbreaking, the centrepiece of the new Premium Economy Class is the new seat ZIM seat providing passengers with more comfort…
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Last week saw not only the arrival of Hong Kong Airlines brand new lounge, but also their very first of 21 A350 aircraft. The airline is embracing the aircraft to support its international development, cherry-picking long-haul destinations that strategically support its future growth. The airline is putting emphasis on developing routes to North America and…
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Qantas recently has been touting itself as a true Ultra-haul carrier. Cutting down it’s kangaroo route from four days and seven stops to a 17 hour direct flight on the 787-9. It has some of the longest routes in the world, and it’s long haul operation reflects the fairly isolated continent from the northern hemisphere…
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Our Regular UK followers might take great pleasure in the news that Philippine Airlines will be introducing it’s flagship 777-300ER aircraft on the Manila-London route, replacing the older A340 product that’s been operating the past few years. Originally penned to star flying in December, the date has been moved forward to September 19th 2017, meaning…
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Qantas has unveiled a new range of inflight tableware by Australian Industrial Designer and lead designer of the Qantas 787 Dreamliner cabin interiors, David Caon. The range includes crockery by Noritake, cutlery and glassware. In a collaboration with Qantas’s long-standing Creative Director Food, Beverage & Service Neil Perry, David Caon has designed this new range…
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In a first first of a series of one-off events, passengers who embarked today on TAP Portugal’s special “Portugal” retrojet aircraft took a surprise trip back to the 1970s. As part of celebrations for its 72 years in the business, TAP invited passengers on-board its retro-styled “Portugal” aircraft headed to Toronto, to go back to…
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Metro carrier flydubai has just rolled out a new uniform after nine years of its initial navy and sand coloured uniform design. The new design will be worn by more than 2,500 staff including pilots, cabin crew, ground crew, training, engineering and maintenance staff. The roll out coincides with the introduction of the airline’s first…
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September will see the introduction of an all-new Business Class seat and service in France’s long-haul leisure carrier Corsair. The new service will be in addition to the older recliner chairs, which will in effect now become a rather luxurious premium economy cabin. These new seats offer a lie-flat bed in a ‘couple-friendly’ 2 x…
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Recently the ME3, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar have all garnered attention for their differing stances on their lucrative premium passengers. While Etihad has taken the stance of appealing to all classes especially economy, Emirates is going to try to lure First Class passengers with a new First Class cabin in November, and Qatar seeks to…
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JAL have spent the past few years upgrading their international cabin product.The introduction of the JAL SKY SUITE configured Boeing 777-300ER/-200ER, Boeing 767-300ER, and Boeing 787-8 has “raised the notches one class above in all cabin services.” JAL today announced that the JAL SKY SUITE 787 family will welcome a new cabin configuration for its Boeing 787-9.…
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We caught up with Daniel Baron, founder of LIFT Strategic Design, the design studio behind the latest Philippine Airlines A330-300 cabin. It’s safe to say LIFT has had a long standing relationship with PAL over the years, “we have worked with PAL on thirteen different seat programs over the past decade, starting with their…
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PAL’s drive to become a five-star airline by 2020 has taken a leap in the right direction. Their first aircraft to offer a true full lie-flat seat in business class has rolled out of the hangar. The A330-300, which will start flying to Honolulu this month will be offering passengers a vastly improved experience. As…
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EL AL was never really seen as a design-led airline, but as we showcased recently, the carrier has recently pushed itself firmly in the right direction. The reveal of the 787-9 product which will be taking to the skies soon demonstrates EL AL’s determination to be taken seriously. Working with EL AL, London based PriestmanGoode…
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Yesterday saw the reveal of Iberia’s first A340-600 retrofitted with a brand new premium economy cabin. Announced back in October last year, the new cabin brought it in line with their fellow IAG partner British Airways, now offering three similar cabins instead of just two. Starting in May, the new cabins will be found on flight…
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Acumen and Zodiac’s Optima seat at first glance, might seem familiar. There’s good reason. It was actually developed in tandem with United’s Polaris product. The seats are basically non-identical twin brothers in the seat manufacturing world. The product has been designed as a logical response to the demands and needs of airlines and passengers alike. The seat boasts…
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Flight: CI063 Aircraft Type: A350-900 Class: Business Class Route: TPE-VIE Date: March 2017 http://www.china-airlines.com China Airlines last year won two awards from us for their formidable turn-around of their inflight and ground product, especially in business class. Their A350-900 is the latest aircraft to join the fleet and features their brand new Business Class product, based on Ray Chen’s design found…
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High-density premium seating is where it is at this year, and tangerine‘s new ‘Adagio’ seat for Aviointeriors is the epitome of this new trend. While the market for fully-flat seats has taken a few years to mature and settle, industrial designers are constantly making small changes to perfect the model from a cost, LOPA and passenger…
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Hawaiian Airlines has just revealed its long-awaited A321Neo interior. Designed by London based JPA, the new space has been created to “evoke the natural splendour of Hawai‘i through colour and form, bringing the outdoors in and extending ‘island time’ from the moment a guest steps onboard.” The cabin takes colour palette cues from the new A330 interiors, which…
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While Business Class and First Class seats can flaunt a wealth of bolt-ons and differences from their competitors – from sliding doors to fully flat beds – the sheer scale and economics of the economy cabins means that the product cannot really change very far from the product set we’ve seen in the skies for…
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Alaska Airlines have just announced that they will form a combined carrier, as the company solidifies its status as the West Coast’s premier airline. While sadly the Virgin America brand will be absorbed by Alaska Airlines, the partnership seems to have rubbed off on the longer-lasting of the two carriers. There’s still a good amount…
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For those who’ve been living under a rock over the last week, you may not know about the electronics ban that is effecting certain airlines from certain countries flying to the US and the UK. While this is for ‘security reasons’, it’s certainly going to effect passengers, especially those travelling in business, who can use…
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IAG launched its new airline yesterday. Called ‘Level’ the airline will be based in Barcelona, also home to IAG partner airline, Vueling. The announcement showcased the new interiors, brand positioning and livery. Level’s brand language approaches younger, more inquisitive travellers that have possibly been restricted by cost of long-haul travel. The visual palette reflects an…
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Two years in the making, the brand new collection of Alessi Serviceware for Delta’s multiple premium cabins has been revealed. One part of Delta’s multi-billion dollar investment into the passenger experience, the new range of designer flatware, cutlery and glasses will be unique to the airline. Appearing onboard 1st April 2017, the design process started…
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TAP Portugal is fast becoming a true contender for European Business Class travellers. The latest announcement sees the first A330-900neo aircraft being fitted entirely with Recaro aircraft seats. For those in the pointy end, passengers will be able to enjoy Recaro’s CL6710 seats, featuring fully flat beds. “In addition to ergonomic comfort, the CL6710 stands out…
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At 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…
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One of the best reasons to fly on Emirates’ A380 is to experience their onboard walk-up bar. While retaining the trademark horseshoe-shaped centrepiece, Emirates’ latest A380 Onboard Lounge will offer more seating space with a new seating arrangement along the windows on both sides of the bar. Eagle-eyed readers may notice there is no walnut…
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Today, Qantas revealed its next-generation Premium Economy seat, which will debut on the airline’s brand new fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that start flying in October 2017. In comparison to Qantas’ other Premium Economy seats, these new seats are wider and offer more functional space overall. The new seat also has a unique recline motion that provides a…
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Tray tables may not be the first people think of when it comes to creativity, but Delta has caught onto the recent ‘bandwagon’ of using the tray table as prime real estate in a passenger’s field of view. Sometimes used as an advertising medium by travel media companies like Ink, the humble tray table is the perfect…
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Air France saw the launch of its first 787-9 commercial flight between Paris CDG and London Heathrow today. TheDesignAir was invited to greet the aircraft in London this morning. We were also allowed to take a look around the new aircraft type for the carrier, that will eventually start to form its long haul product.…
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Lufthansa revealed its new A350-900 in Munich yesterday with a spectacular light show and an official unveiling ceremony in the Lufthansa Technik Hangar. The first of 10 aircraft was named ‘City of Nuremberg’ in front of an audience of 2,000 employees and guests. The aircraft is the airline’s most modern and technologically advanced featuring better fuel consumption…
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