British Airways just celebrated its centenary year and as part of its new year’s resolutions (Happy New Year everyone!) the carrier has hinted at some much needed upgrades to its Heathrow lounge complexes. 2019 saw the carrier bring a host of new lounge designs to its network including San Francisco, Geneva, New York and Milan.…
Read More2019 has seen yet another year of great innovation, new products, new airlines, new lounges and new airport facilities across the globe. It just goes to show how quickly the industry continues to evolve and respond to the ever-increasing needs of an airline passenger. Just before this year, or even this decade, comes to a…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is thrilled to announce the 2019 award winners as voted for by our esteemed judging panel and our readers. Year after year, we see more improvements and enhancements across the passenger experience, from narrow to wide bodies to lounges and airports around the globe. We showcase the 2019 winners here.
Read MoreThe first of SAS’s A350s has officially entered its fleet and starting in January, the carrier’s passengers will be able to take flight on one of the most advanced aircraft in the skies featuring the newest livery featuring super huge silver billboard titles across the fuselage. Inside, the carrier has opted for the same paired…
Read MoreA few weeks ago we brought the news that Virgin Atlantic was launching sustainable amenity kits, made from Kraft paper, which married cool design aesthetic with a clear sustainability drive. Now, SAS is launching a new packaging design for the award-winning New Nordic by SAS food concept. The new design of the pre-existing cube from…
Read MoreThe past few years has seen a few airlines decide to position themselves as a lifestyle brand, appealing to the younger, time-rich generation who are gap-year embracing, iPhone toting and generally bank-rolled by their parents. While airlines – like the big US 3 – see their passenger demographic age as fast as the airline does,…
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 MoreGreat news! United Airlines has just released a themed Star Wars safety video. Jumping on the Star Wars bandwagon (which already includes Virgin Atlantic, ANA and Latam, to name just a few) the carrier is celebrating the launch of the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by releasing a safety video, special livery and Mileage…
Read MoreIt’s another month, another airline, another amenity kit. This time, Formia brought together a collaboration with Etro and Aeromexico, offering their business class passengers a stylish new kit bag filled with the usual perks befitting a premium passenger. “The style of Etro’s fashion lends itself perfectly to these amenity kits whose exterior is made of…
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 More2019 has already seen a wealth of new product launches and new aircraft deliveries. This means that passengers are starting to experience the latest wave in business class seats and cabins across the globe. While there are many more exciting products on the horizon from Emirates‘ Premium Economy product through to Lufthansa’s new 777 business…
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 MoreUnless you have been living under a rock today you will already have seen the new business class product for British Airways, dubbed the ‘Club Suite.’ The new suite brings a range of improvements to the passenger experience including all-aisle access, more storage, larger IFE screens and even doors, offering even more privacy, similar to…
Read MoreIt’s a phrase that some airlines build their business model and service proposition on, but the ‘Boutique’ airline is a seemingly new airline type that will no doubt turn our heads a little more often than legacy carriers, but why is that? While La Compagnie has already built the strap-line ‘Boutique Airline’ into their marketing,…
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 MoreFinnair have impressed us with a new bolt-on package for their economy class passengers currently flying on Finnair flights between Helsinki and Barcelona, Biarritz, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Nice, Paris, Reykjavik and Rome. It’s a really simple premise, but we love the idea of bundling options that passengers really want, similar to…
Read MoreHeathrow has no less than forty-something lounges across the expansive airport, but the offering can vary substantially, so selecting the right lounge can be a bit of a challenge. For those fellow aviation nuts out there though, the airport does offer a range of lounges with excellent views of the runways and apron, making spotting…
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 MoreYes, that’s right, it’s not Air Canada, It’s actually WestJet’s impressive (If somewhat familiar looking) new business class cabin that will be rolled out in early 2019 on the airline’s new 787 Dreamliner fleet which will feature an updated and slick new livery. “The introduction of Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner, a state-of-the-art aircraft, is the dawn…
Read MoreMost people probably remember when Airbus first launched their A380, there was talk about the cargo area being used as an onboard lounge, retail unit or even a restaurant for passengers. Naturally, like many things in aviation, these ideas gradually disappeared and practicality took over. Gone the ideas of having a large retail unit, when…
Read MoreMonday didn’t just see the launch of a new route to Los Angeles on the carrier’s A350, but also of a range of stylish new tableware for award-winning Hong Kong Airlines. The carrier picked a local company to help design their new range. The award-winning, local homeware design brand JIA Inc. and inflight experience specialists…
Read MoreTheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2017 and just like last year, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public, so you can vote for the winners. Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across the globe. All it takes…
Read MoreLast week saw the arrival of Delta’s brand new A350 featuring the airline’s brand new Delta One suites. Delta is the North American launch customer for the A350, which sets to change the image of the carrier with a new ‘Suite-based’ Business class and Delta Premium Select cabin. Even the Main Cabin will receive an enhanced look…
Read MorePunta Cana is the latest airport to bring pool-side lounging to the airline environment. From December passengers travelling from the Dominican Republic can enjoy the best of both worlds; a pool to cool off in while waiting for a flight and uninterrupted views of the apron, with aircraft rubber duck-throwing distance from the pool (please…
Read MoreThompson Aero Seating have recently added another seat design to its famous and well-established Vantage range. Based on an original concept from Factorydesign, the seat was designed specifically for the single-aisle market, the new seat. Called the Vantage Solo, manages to provide all-aisle access fully-flat beds at a competitive 33″ seat pitch. The seat uses…
Read MoreThis week saw Cathay, Qantas and British Airways launch a wave of new flights, adding options and increasing the oneworld global network. British Airways has added to its Gatwick leisure network by introducing Toronto and re-establishing Las Vegas in direct competition to Virgin Atlantic’s city pair. This now means BA serves Las Vegas from both…
Read MoreYes, that’s a beach. Yes, that’s also a departure lounge (well, sort of). Virgin Holidays has just revealed plans for “The Departure Beach”, a Virgin Holidays & Virgin Atlantic branded area on Brownes Beach in Barbados where customers can hang out after they’ve checked out of their accommodation – perfect for Virgin Atlantic flyers who have…
Read MoreToday saw the debut of American Airlines‘ newly-renovated Flagship Lounge and brand new Flagship First Dining at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. The lounge is part of a wave of new lounges opening in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Heathrow, Miami and Philadelphia. At first glance the lounge is certainly impressive, and has adopted…
Read MoreDelta recently announced it will be moving its operations to Terminal 2 and 3 in LAX from May 12th. It will be one of the largest terminal moves in the history of commercial aviation, but the benefits seem to outweigh the temporary inconveniences. The move is the start of a larger expansion and improvement plan for…
Read MoreAs Air Canada’s revealed its new livery reveal, we raise the question, has the continuing trend of ‘Eurowhite’ liveries started to draw to a close? It was actually back in 1965 that Braniff International launched their ‘End of the plain plane’ advertising campaign – pointing out that their brightly coloured aircraft and Pucci uniforms were a unique selling…
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