The first of a wave of new facilities for Qantas passengers travelling from Brisbane, Australia will now open October 20th 2016. The striking new lounge is another well-crafted designer space that follows the updated airside aesthetic that has been rolled out across Qantas’ network of lounges globally over the past couple of years. The Brisbane International Lounge is based on…
Read MoreTrip Report: Cathay Pacific DUS-HKG Business Class October 2015
Flight: CX375 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER aircraft Class: Business Class Route: DUS-HKG Flight time: 12hrs30mins Seat: 12G Date: October 2015 http://www.cathaypacific.com Best For: Regular travellers connecting from Germany to Asia with all of the ease of a direct flight. With four flights a week taking place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, this new route is already…
Read MoreReport: Why TheDesignAir Thinks Heathrow Was The Right Choice For London’s Next Runway
Today brought a close to the long debate over the location of London’s next runway. The new government, and the same one that is leading the UK out of Europe has decided Heathrow will play host to a third runway in a bid to increase passenger traffic. While the decision will play out for the…
Read MoreQantas To Launch New London Heathrow Lounge
London seems to be gaining a lot of new lounges this year, with OneWorld carriers Cathay Pacific and Qantas both giving a facelift to their ground operations. The Australia carrier announced last week that the next location for its flagship global lounge will be at Heathrow airport with construction to begin in September 2016. While T3 in…
Read MoreTheDesignAir 2016 Award Winners Announced
From everyone at TheDesignAir, we want to wish you a very Happy New Year. As the new year rolls in, we take the time to celebrate 2016. It’s been yet another fantastic year in aviation with numerous new products rolled out and airlines once again investing heavily into brand, product and design. At the start of December, we…
Read MoreWork About To Commence On Qantas Brisbane International Premium Lounge
Qantas today announced it is starting construction on its new Brisbane lounge in a few weeks in a bid to “redefine the travel experience.” It follows hot on the heels of the airline’s development of their award-winning Hong Kong and Singapore Lounges. The airline has opted to combine the two current lounges (First and Business) into…
Read MoreCathay Pacific Launch New London Route – Flying To Gatwick Again
Cathay have announced a 10% increase in their flights between the UK and Hong Kong, showcasing a high demand for the popular long-haul city pair. A total of 43 flights a week between the UK has been enabled be the introduction of a new four-times-weekly service to London’s Gatwick Airport on 2 September 2016, (subject to…
Read MoreA reimagined experience. An Exclusive Inside Look At Cathay Dragon
Part three of TheDesignAir’s exclusive series on the making of Cathay Dragon. Read parts one and two. This week brought a brand new airline officially take to the skies, with Dragonair now becoming Cathay Dragon. The new airline now aligns itself with its big brother Cathay Pacific across many passenger experience touch-points while still maintaining…
Read MoreCathay’s New Heathrow Lounge Will Feature Separate First and Business Class Spaces
In our exclusive interview with designer Ilse Crawford from StudioIlse, we reveal that the new London Heathrow Lounge will be the first redesigned lounge to feature both First Class and Business Class areas for passengers. The designer is the same creative force behind the new wave of Cathay Pacific lounges, including the Pier First Class Lounge and new…
Read MoreIn Reflection: Cathay Dragon’s New Brand Is A Natural Evolution
Yesterday we announced that Dragonair was going to change its brand to Cathay Dragon in a bid to align itself with Cathay Pacific and while the general reaction has been similar to ours in thinking that the livery looks familiar to Qantas or Turkish Airlines (or at least from afar), we have taken a closer look…
Read MoreSkyTeam Launch Latest Designer Lounge In Dubai
This week saw the official opening of their latest designer lounge in Terminal 1 of Dubai International Airport, the first for SkyTeam in the Gulf region. Catering to Elite Plus, First and Business Class passengers of the ten SkyTeam airlines flying to the airport. The new space spans over 960 square metres and can seat up…
Read MoreLounging Around: The Pier First Class Lounge By Cathay Pacific At Hong Kong Sets New Standards
We constantly write about how lounges continue to impress us, and this is purely due to the fact there is a lounge war on right now, with airlines around the world trying to offer their passengers an experience to equal their competitors. Cathay Pacific today revealed a lounge that would not just cater for their current passenger…
Read MoreDelta Keeps On Picking Up Good Habits From Virgin Atlantic
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 MorePlaza Premium Partner With China Eastern To Create New No.77 Lounge In Shanghai
This month our favourite independent lounge company Plaza Premium launched a brand new lounge in Shanghai Pudong for China Eastern airlines. The world’s first co-branded spacious lounge, situated in Shanghai’s Terminal 2 features 1,800 square meters of space for passengers to relax before their flights. The lounge which can seat up to 500 guests in comfort,…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Exclusive Interview With Cathay’s Dennis Owen
Dennis Owen, Manager of Brand Cathay Pacific has been working with the airline for 29 years, starting in San Fransisco four months before Cathay even started flying to the United States as a sales representative and then moved to Dallas in 1990, when OneWorld started. “I was there for 6 years, and then went to Los Angeles and…
Read MoreQantas Offers Two New Australian Additions To Its Inflight Product
Qantas has just launched a brand new safety video that showcases Australia in all its natural glory. From an oxygen mask demonstration at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart to a life-jacket demonstration at Bondi Icebergs, the video will be introduced across Qantas’ domestic and international fleet from today, as well as featuring…
Read MoreCathay Pacific Launch New Taipei Lounge And Introduce New Solo Chair
Cathay Pacific today opened the long awaited lounge for passengers travelling out of Taiwan Taoyuen International Airport. Located at Level 4 in the Departure Hall of Terminal 1, the newly renovated Taipei lounge adopts the airline’s new lounge design ethos that has already won praise from passengers in other key Cathay Pacific destinations within the region…
Read MoreCathay Pacific Reveal New Livery To Match New Brand
Cathay Pacific today revealed their long awaited livery, which features a few simple changes to radically change their aircraft’s appearance. Designed in collaboration with design firm Eight Partnership, this new look new livery will be progressively introduced onto all the aircraft in its fleet. The livery was showcased on one of the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft at a special…
Read MoreTrip Report: British Airways Boeing 777-300 In New World Traveller June 2015
Flight: BA27 Aircraft: Boeing 777-300 Class: World Traveller (economy) Seat: 30A Route: LHR-HKG Date: June 2015 Frequent flyer program: BA Executive Club / Avios. Part of the OneWorld Alliance http://www.britishairways.com British Airways 777-300ER Economy Class Report Written for TheDesignAir by Zoe Belhomme | As a Hong Kong-based British expat I find myself travelling between London and Hong Kong at least three…
Read MoreHow A Livery Took Flight. An Exclusive Inside Look At Cathay Dragon
Part two of TheDesignAir’s exclusive series on the making of Cathay Dragon. Read Part One here. Cathay Pacific and newly branded Cathay Dragon’s synergies may seem completely obvious to passengers who have flown on both airlines. However to entice new customers to experience the two airlines, so similar and yet distinctly different brought a host of…
Read MoreCathay Pacific A350 Refresh And Refine Already Leading Cabin Products
Yesterday saw the arrival of Cathay Pacific‘s first A350 in Hong Kong. When we saw a glimpse of the aircraft from the airport terminal, the new A350 shape was instantly recognisable, and to us signalled a new era for the carrier. Cathay have been working hard in the past two years, aligning two brands, opening…
Read MoreCathay Pacific Is Latest Airline To ReInvent First Class Menus
During the same week ANA announce their partnership with Noma in Japan, Cathay Pacific and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group announce their first-ever international partnership for crafting unique inflight menus for the airline over the coming 12 months. The strategic partnership brings top chefs from various renowned Mandarin Oriental properties in Hong Kong, London, Paris, New…
Read MoreCathay Pacific Open The Lid On New Premium Amenity Kits
Cathay Pacific has been busy over the past few weeks improving what is seemingly a faultless premium product. Today the Hong Kong based airline unveiled its new range of amenity kits for First and Business Class passengers on long-haul flights which feature natural skincare products from renowned Australian brands Aesop and Jurlique (who already feature…
Read MoreBoeing Beef-up Cathay Pacific’s Fleet
Written for TheDesignAir by Adam Ralston | Nine months ago, the final Cathay Pacific 747-400 departed San Francisco for Hong Kong, never to return to the continent. That 747-400 was swapped, permanently, for the 777-300ER serving the airlines’ Canadian and US destinations. The 747-series of passenger aircraft served Cathay Pacific well for nearly 35 years. That final departure on…
Read MoreSWISS Launch New Lounges And Show Off New 777
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 MoreReport: The Bangkok – Hong Kong Business Class Comparison
It’s been a while, but we are continuing our comparison reports on some of the most popular and competitive routes in the world. In the midst of our recent travel planning we noticed the great variety of carriers travelling between Hong Kong and Bangkok. There are 9 main competitors that run the city pair, formed of Thai Airways, Emirates, Sri…
Read MoreUnited’s New Polaris Cabin Brings Carrier Up To International Level
United Airlines has unveiled today a brand new international business class cabin and lounge concept that will start flying December 1st 2016. This revolutionary leap for United pushes the boundaries of comfort and amenities for the one remaining US legacy carrier that has lagged behind the recent developments at Delta and American. Named after the North Star, United…
Read MoreA Little Late To Report, We Admit, But It’s Well Worth It… The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong
When Qantas released images of their new lounge in Hong Kong back in April, we wanted to dig a little deeper into the design ethos of the new lounge, brought to us by Sumu Design, an architecture and interior design company based in Australia. We talk exclusively to Felice Carlino, the director of the agency…
Read MoreOpen Now, Cathay Pacific’s New Bangkok Lounge
Open today, Cathay Pacific passengers travelling out of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport are in for a treat. Located at Level 3 in the Concourse G Departure Hall, Cathay’s Bangkok lounge adopts the airline’s new lounge design template that has already been employed at Cathay Pacific lounges in Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Manila. Measuring in at 679…
Read MoreSingapore Airlines Plan On Celebrating SG50 In Style
You won’t miss this in a rush! Singapore Airlines have just brought one of two aircraft out of the paint shop to celebrate Singapore’s 50th year of independence. Today marked SIA’s special A380 Charity Flight, on which some 300 beneficiaries of Community Chest experienced a three-hour flight on the jet. Beneficiaries included children with special needs,…
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