We expect the news of British Airways’ new partnership will bright a sigh of relief to frequent fliers of the airline. The White Company and British Airways today announced its plans to improve the bedding and amenity kit offering for Business Class passengers, following similar moves from the likes of Delta, SAS and United. Later this year,…
Read MoreQatar Airways has released a powerful video campaign in response to their closed airspace borders. Titled “No Borders, Only Horizons” the video subtly addresses their current situation with a strong, emotionally-based message. This latest campaign follows recent videos from Turkish Airlines featuring Morgan Freeman and Aeromexico that responded to the actions of the US. The…
Read MoreQatar 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…
Read MoreQatar Airways, a 5 star airline that truly deserves its airline ranking, seems to be really pushing forward with an aggressive expansion plan. Today, May 2nd 2012, marks a USD$2billion investment from Qatar into the New Doha International Airport, as the country looks to expand the airport to cope with the constant increase in growth…
Read MoreAfter a year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the return of its annual Airline Design awards. Celebrating the very best in airline passenger experience, brand and design across the globe, the awards – now in its 9th year – have once again bestowed its leading design airlines, new products and…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is pleased to announce the recommencement of our Awards after taking a break last year. We’ve once again released our shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2021 and just like every year, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public. It’s time for you to get involved! Now is your chance to pick from…
Read MoreLike many things in the aviation industry, there are always one or two major suppliers in most cases dominating the industry, whether its Boeing or Airbus, Rolls Royce or GE and within business class seats let’s face it, Collins Aerospace or Safran, but there are just as capable competitors on the fringe. Recaro and Thompson…
Read MoreWe’ve been drowning in a sea of short-term hygiene messages across the last year as airlines have rapidly ‘masked up’ in order to win over what little passenger volume there has been. Today’s passengers have been assaulted by marketing imagery of planes being scrubbed within an inch of their life, crew in body suits and…
Read MoreIt’s long been established in scientific fields that memories, emotions, and senses are all tied together. The same region of the brain that processes the five senses is also partly responsible for storing emotional memories. In the airline field, that means passengers are more likely to remember and build brand memories that tie in all five senses…
Read MoreHot on the heels of its Vantage Solo design (now being manufactured by Thompson Aero Seating), London-based Factorydesign has revealed details about its mid-market hybrid business class seat for narrow body long-haul aircraft. Trying to navigate the economics and ergonomics of a premium product on a narrow body aircraft proves one of the most difficult…
Read More2020 has seen the rule book thrown out of the window. Carriers that have adapted quickly will see the largest market share in 2021. While many airlines continue to struggle just to survive day-to-day, some have taken this as an opportunity to level the playing field. While clear regional battles are at play across Asia,…
Read MoreOver the past few years Gulf Air has managed to really shake off its tired products of the past and reposition itself as a boutique carrier that gives the ME3 a run for their money. The 787 product is certainly stunning, and we thought that in many ways, thanks to their smaller more intimate cabins,…
Read MoreUnless you’ve had your head under a rock, you might have noticed that airlines are struggling to survive right now. Their entire model is based on free movement between destinations, a right that has since been rescinded by the global governments who are trying to get a grip on the pandemic. As such, airlines are…
Read MoreVistara was one of the last airlines we covered pre-lockdown who received a brand new jet. The carrier’s 787 certainly showed this airline meant business and its latest arrival, a brand new Airbus A321neo shows Vistara is living up to its promises. The aircraft – which is part of a hefty order of 50 from…
Read MoreFly better. That’s Emirates‘ marketing slogan. It’s the same marketing campaign that has featured the likes of Jennifer Anniston, onboard bars, showers, all-aisle access and swathes of space. The problem is, Emirates has – since the A380 entered its fleet – offered two products, a 777 and A380 business class product that couldn’t be more…
Read MoreWhile no one has successfully modelled the complex commercial outlook of the airline industry over the coming months, some airlines are predicting it will take many years to return to pre-Covid19 levels of revenue, profitability and passenger numbers. When borders reopen there might be a small surge in passenger numbers, but to get to 2019…
Read MoreA recent National Institute of Health report highlighted the length of time that different viral strains could possibly live on surfaces. Most of us have heard how a trace of Covid-19 can live on plastic and metal for up to three days (albeit ever reducing in strength), whereas copper and cardboard/paper are found to be…
Read MoreWhile the team are doing their bit to help fight this pandemic and staying indoors, it’s also making us a little stir crazy as our wings have been clipped, at least for the coming weeks or months. Like many others out there, we’ve been finding ourselves going through our archives, going online and longing for…
Read MoreAs the phrase goes, “good things come in small packages.” In 2018, the airline industry carried 4.4billion passengers. It has become an integral part of human life, but it’s also an industry of behemoth players. In fact, in 2018, the top 10 airline groups transported over one third of the entire annual traffic, leaving the…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2019 and just like last couple of years, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public. The voting is now closed! Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across the globe. All it takes…
Read MoreQatar Airways and Hamad International Airport have just announced plans for the second expansion phase in Doha. HIA’s expansion project will include a fairly grand 10,000 square metre indoor tropical garden in a central concourse as well as a 268 square metre water feature which will be the focal point of the expansion project. The…
Read MoreFor anyone that travels in premium cabins a lot, there seem to be a few moving goalposts when it comes to an internationally standardised product. Where some carriers believe business class comes with all bells and whistles, such as chauffeur drive, the same carrier might not believe in pyjamas. While some offer dine on demand,…
Read MoreDoors. This is where it all starts. Over the past few years, the differences between First Class and Business Class hard-products have become fewer and farther between. We’re now in an era where British Airways new Business Class product offers equal space and more privacy than its older First Class product. Airlines such as Qatar…
Read MoreA few years ago, the race was on to kit out an airline’s entire fleet with fully-flat, all-aisle access seats in business class, as this was a quantifiable benefit from competitors who were offering either angled lie-flat or seats that didn’t feature aisle access. A few key seats became de-facto benchmarks in passenger expectations, including…
Read MoreNo matter how we look at it, the aviation business class landscape is changing, and is potentially as fragmented as ever. The race to the bottom is evident, even in currently touted ‘5-star airlines’ who seek profitability. Whether a desire to chase the most effective cabin configuration (LOPA), decision to reduce amenities to the bare…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is pleased to announce the 2018 Award winners as voted for by our esteemed judging panel and our readers. This year has seen a wave of improvements around the world in the field of passenger experience. From impressive new business class cabins to swathes of new airline lounges, no stone has been left unturned…
Read MoreBoth China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines are receiving new cabin products for their latest generation aircraft deliveries. Shanghai Airlines’ 787 Dreamliner arrived at the Hongqiao International Airport, delivered to China Eastern’s affiliated Shanghai Airlines to become the carrier’s 100th aircraft. The new aircraft will initially serve domestic routes between Shanghai and Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. After that,…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2018 and just like last year, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public, so you can vote for the winners you feel are most worthy. Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across…
Read MoreWhile many airlines in the world vie to be the biggest, there are a few smaller airlines that are certainly fighting to be the best. We take a look at 10 airlines under 10 million passengers per annum that are doing something special in 2018 that – we think – might just be worth getting…
Read MoreTurkish Airlines, like many airlines (like TAP or Qatar Airways) over a stop-over for transiting passengers to experience the city, but Turkish Airlines have taken this experience one further. Not only can passengers enjoy a two night free stay in Istanbul (for business class passengers) but those with more than just a few hours to…
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