Cebu Pacific Introduce New Brand Image

As of yesterday, Cebu Pacific started introducing a refreshed brand image, which will cover all of its brand touch points, including a livery during a progressive roll out. Proudly Filipino, the airline now uses the country’s natural canvas as inspiration, featuring shades of the Philippines’ land, sea, sky and sun. “We have always prioritized building an extensive…

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Singapore 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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Qantas Continues To Innovate With Impressive Pre-Departure Library

Those of you who have flown on Qantas, may be familiar with their fairly hefty inflight magazine Australian Way. Whilst this may be a meaty enough read for most of their domestic flights, what if you have to Kangaroo hop your way to The States or Europe? Well, now there is good news. If you…

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TheDesignAir’s Top 10 Airline Uniforms 2015

This month we celebrate all things fashion. Our Top 10 airline uniforms for 2015 are a real feast for the eyes. This is one category where product from 40 years ago is still pitched against the very latest products on the market, and some of these products really do stand the test of time. We…

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Vietnam Airlines Are One To Watch This Summer

On 14th May Vietnam Airlines celebrated the completion of their 787-9 test flight. This is a big (and final) step in bringing the carrier into the international arena, as their new products on both their Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 will re-ignite interest in the carrier as they go above and beyond in delivering a passenger…

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Transaero Show Off New Colours On A Brand New 737-800

Transaero last week received their latest Boeing 737-800, which as well as featuring the new ‘Sky Interior’ and WiFi capabilities, also features a whole new look for the carrier. The modernised design reflects the previous livery which was often mistaken for Air France. Originally slated to come in last year, the carrier decided to hold…

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Hawaiian Airlines Launch Brilliant New Site

Hawaiian Airlines has officially launched a beta of their new website, currently accessible to their HawaiianMiles members. The site will be rolling out in phases, with a full launch is expected later this summer. This is a complete revamp of a site that wasn’t terrible, but had gone through a few skins of what was fundamentally the same website. The…

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Trip Report: Singapore Airlines New 777-300ER Business Class May 2015

Flight: SQ319 Aircraft Type: B777-300ER Class: ‘New’ Business Class Route: LHR-SIN Flight time: 12:34 Seat: 15F Date: May 2015 http://www.singaporeair.com Best for: Solos and Couples doesn’t matter, this carrier is great for business, but also those wanting to experience luxury travel. The crowd: Mainly English or Antipodean travellers, with most connecting on to luxury beach or city breaks. An older more sophisticated set. Business or…

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TheDesignAir 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…

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Singapore Airlines New Premium Economy Product Is Strongest In The Details

We’ve written about the Singapore Airlines Premium Economy product before on our site, and it would be easy to reiterate the beautiful 38″ seat pitch, 13.3″ IFE touchscreen offering Panasonic Ex3 hardware and 1,500 on demand entertainment options, 8″ recline with seat-pan tilt, foot rest and calf support. Even the reading light, dedicated personal in-arm dining…

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Delta Do It Again – It’s Safety Video Time

  Ok Ok, so some of us are getting bored of these safety video memes, however, here’s a bit of mid-week fun. Delta have really pulled out the stops with this Internet-fest of a safety video. Whilst we have spotted some of the internet stars featuring in this video, some have gone straight over our…

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Plaza Premium Is Latest Lounge To Take On Heathrow

Good News for Heathrow Terminal 4 travellers. There’s another lounge in town, and this one is a Pay-for lounge, so anyone can get in. You may be forgiven thinking there was already a Plaza Premium lounge, but this latest haven is part of the company’s USD40 million global expansion plan and is actually its third lounge in London Heathrow. Unlike the departure lounge in T2,…

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Ladies In Red. Austrian Launch Latest Threads

Austrian Airlines have been busy reinventing themselves recently, with new liveries, business class seats, and now a new uniform, which will be worn by about 3,500 Austrian Airlines employees. Move over Avianca and Virgin, there are new ‘ladies in red’ in town, with the latest threads  highlighting the airline’s signature colour (as seen in the image above, ignoring the awkward hand…

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American Continue To Improve Their TransAtlantic Fleet

American Airlines passengers flying across the Atlantic may have noticed a wealth of improvements across the board recently. Not only in the shape of their newest flagship 777-300ER product, but also on AA’s retrofitted workhorse 767 now flying on a variety of routes from the US to Europe and beyond. The new upgraded 767s are a…

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Cathay Roll Out Second Lounge In New Design Aesthetic In Manila

When we recently visited Cathay Pacific‘s new Tokyo Haneda Lounge, we were excited to announce the carrier was expanding the new aesthetic and product across a range of outstations. The latest lounge to join this exclusive list of designer spaces is found in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Not really being known for its amazing facilities, the…

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LAN To Roll Out New 787-9 Routes. We’re Excited

Joining the fleet only last month, LAN brought out their latest weapon in attacking the international market, their much improved Dreamliner, the 787-9. Operating from their base in Santiago Chile, LAN’s 787-9 will start flying to Lima, Peru (with continuing service to Los Angeles), New York, Easter Island, Madrid, Frankfurt, Auckland and Sydney. The 787-9 is perfect for LAN’s premium…

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Trip Report: LAN 787-8 Business Class April 2015

Flight: LA705 Aircraft Type: B787-8 Class: ‘Premium’ Business Class Route: MAD-SCL Flight time: 13:21 Seat: 4D Date: April 2015 http://www.lan.com Best for: Couples due to the seat config or smarter travellers wanting a better experience compared to the Iberia codeshare flying the same route. The crowd: A full cabin, mainly Chilean, and either wealthy travellers or business travellers. Business or pleasure: This route, considering it connects on…

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Suitcases Pack A Punch, No Matter How Small They May Be

You may not have heard of Formia, as they hide behind the behemoth brands they work with, however that may be about to change. This powerful (and award-winning) company manages to partner brands together to offer their passengers the very best in amenities. 2015 has brought a wealth of new luxury partnerships, and a new…

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Boeing 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…

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Virgin Atlantic Open New Clubhouse In LAX T2

Finally! We are getting a brand new Clubhouse in Los Angeles Terminal 2. First suggested back in 2012 by TheDesignAir, the moving of the Air New Zealand lounge from LAX’s T2 which Virgin Atlantic used to use across to the TBIT terminal, left passengers in a bit of a quandary. However, the airline announced this week…

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We Take You Behind The Scenes At Singapore Airlines

Last month, we were luckily invited in a very rare behind-the-scenes visit to Singapore Airlines‘ training and catering centres, found in and around Changi Airport. As we revealed in our recent Singapore Airlines Premium Economy stories, the carrier is a stickler for detail. From our exclusive walk around their very secretive backstage this attention to…

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TheDesignAir Top 10 Liveries of 2015

This month we are turning our eyes to the outside of the aircraft. Usually bright and colorful, these calling cards fill international airports with a myriad of designs. A livery, if designed correctly, can convey the brand experience that takes place inside. Each year, our judges (including some new faces) sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark and ticking the right…

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Santiago Just Got On The Map. Because of LATAM’s New Lounge

We were lucky enough to get invited to LATAM’s inauguration of their brand new Santiago Lounge today. The largest lounge in South America (and the largest so far for LATAM) hasn’t failed to deliver on its promise with over 23,000sq feet of luxurious passenger comfort on offer. LATAM have left the best till last, with the…

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JPA and Jamco Release The Latest Herringbone Seat

It’s always good to see a new herringbone seat enter the market, and yet most passengers may not even know the array of seats on offer. The wealth of herringbone seat designs have a myriad of differences. Designed by London based JPA Design and Jamco, these brand new seat designs (first seen at AIX in Hamburg this…

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A Delightfully Simple And Elegant Premium Economy Solution

No, these aren’t designer office pieces of furniture, they are the latest premium economy seats by Acro Aircraft Seating, designed by UK based Factorydesign. Conceived with the future demands of airliners in mind, these ergonomic beauties have embraced the simple fact that comfort should be found in the spaces between the seats. One of the many ‘diamond patterned’…

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The Aviator Episode Two

It’s time for next instalment of The Aviator: The podcast about all things flying. This month it’s an Airport special, so the show comes from London City Airport, where we discuss everything from routes, landside, airside innovations and the future of gateway hubs across the world. We also discover the secret to LCY’s steep approach…

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Lounging Around: Cathay Pacific’s Tokyo Haneda Lounge Reviewed In Detail

We were delighted this month to be invited to experience Cathay’s latest airside lounge, situated in Tokyo Haneda, which we reported on late last year. Situated airside in Tokyo Haneda’s International Terminal, the brand new space, on the very highest passenger floor commands unparalleled views of not just Haneda Airport, but Tokyo’s dramatic and iconic skyline. On…

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Four Seasons Super-Exclusive Private Jet Revealed

We love a special jet, and there is no more special than Four Season’s little black number revealed today to the world’s press. This is the basically the Orient Express for the 21st century, carefully transporting 52 very exclusive passengers on a money-can’t-buy itinerary of a lifetime. Working in partnership with Four Seasons Hotels, TCS…

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Narita’s New Terminal 3 Opens – And It’s Stopped Us In Our Tracks!

It’s not very often we see the photos of the inside of a terminal and stop in our tracks, but that is exactly what Toyko Narita have managed to do with their new Terminal 3 design, dedicated to low cost carriers. Serving Japan Vanilla Air, Jeju Air, Jetstar Japan, Jetstar Airways and Spring Airlines, the new…

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Trip Report: Cathay Pacific Business Class April 2015

Flight: CX250 Aircraft Type: B777-300ER Class: Business Class Route: LHR-HKG Flight time: 11:45 Seat: 16D Date: April 2015 http://www.cathaypacific.com Best for: Regular travellers connecting from Europe to Asia, with five flights a day, the airline offers a great variety of flight departure times with connections onto a variety of China and pan-Asian destinations. The crowd: Completely full, as always. Cathay manages to combine…

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