It’s no secret that we love how Fiji Airways have turned themselves around into a successful modern airline, and even with the recent departure of CEO Steven Pilcher, the carrier continues to impress. The latest campaign from the airline “Welcome To Our Home”, better aligns the airline with its goals and also reflects naturally with the…
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In the past few days, Qantas have announced a wave of improvements both in the front and the back of the aircraft for their passengers comfort. The introduction of refreshed Kate Spade and Jack Spade amenity kits, improved IFE and the upgrade of the economy meals makes for a welcome home in the sky. Qantas have been…
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Our good friends, Hawaiian Airlines celebrated 85 years of continuous passenger service today from Hawaii. And within those 85 years, have celebrated the very best in Hawaiian hospitality and design. Hawai’i’s first interisland passenger service was launched on Nov. 11, 1929 as Inter-Island Airways, with a flight from Honolulu to Hilo, which took a total of one hour and 40…
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LAN and TAM announced today the opening of their impressive and striking new VIP lounge, at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport. The new lounge is the largest in Latin America, spanning over a fairly massive 1,800 square metres. We love the wallpaper-esque style injected into the space, really showcasing the very best in South America architecture and design. Located on…
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Flight: CI791 Aircraft Type: B777-300ER Class: Premium Business Class Route: TPE-HAN Date: November 2014 http://www.china-airlines.com Best for: One stop travellers connecting from Asia to the US in need of connectivity and comfort. Most likely to sit next to: Quiet business professionals. Business or pleasure: This airline is built for business. Great schedules, frequent services, good connections and wifi onboard, means for a logical…
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Flight: BA117 Aircraft Type: B747-400 Class: “Club World” Business Class Route: LHR-JFK Date: October 2014 http://www.ba.com Best for: UK based travellers who travel a lot, who can benefit from frequent flier perks. Most likely to sit next to: On this route, expect NY-LON travellers, who take the trip as much as they would a Taxi, nothing phases or surprises these über-travellers. Business…
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Cathay Pacific have been working on a new brand image for the past few months, and whilst you may be forgiven for going ‘Really?’ we here at thedesignair.net think the subtle difference in the new brand positioning is both striking, powerful and evocative. We have been huge fans of the interior and ground products of the…
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Launched today, with the smell of fresh paint still in the air, Brussels Airlines inaugurated it’s new product: “The Loft” at Brussels International Airport. A fantastic slick new business lounge that puts the heart of Belgian excellence. With this new lounge concept, for which Brussels Airlines has cooperated with top brands and designers, Brussels Airlines “sets…
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Being invited to Aer Lingus’ media event in Dublin, we were treated to the unveiling of the airlines new business class cabin concept. We originally covered the initial design concept back in August, when the airline revealed them, but today marked the physical realization of the designs into fully working seats. Overseen by Factorydesign and…
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Although we announced the introduction of this seat almost a year ago today, the final touches have finally been completed and the newest business class seating was showcased today to the media. The Thomson Vantage XL seat has been fully customised to offer Qantas passengers the very best in comfort and technology. In a world…
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Flight: QR3 Aircraft Type: A380-800 Class: First Class Route: DOH-LHR Date: 10th October 2014, (Inaugural flight) http://www.qatarairways.com Best for: International business class travellers looking for luxury with one-stop connections Most likely to sit next to: local Qatar people with an interest in international business Business or pleasure: This is an airline all about business. The…
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Back in April, Air France unveiled its new advertising campaign called “Air France, France is in the air” in the printed press, with coverage in 12 countries (France, Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Spain, USA, Italy, Japan, Russia, Senegal and Switzerland) as well as on the internet, social media and on the radio. But here at TheDesignAir…
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A little while ago, we announced China Airlines plans for their Next Generation 777-300ER, and spoke about the radical industry leading product they wanted to create. Last week the airline received their brand new 777-300ER, and we now take a closer look at the final product. We have to admit, we are blown away by…
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We were lucky enough to be included in Skift’s SkiftForum in New York’s Times Center yesterday (October 9th 2014) that brought together some of the best leading minds in the Travel and Hospitality industry. Spending the day with like minded expert individuals, it was clear to see some of the emerging trends that will most…
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This has taken us by surprise, as a traditionally non-innovatve travel brand, Thomson Airways today unveiled its radical and forward thinking five year vision to change the face of holiday flying through new state-of-the-art aircraft and innovative on-board product and service concepts. The two centre pieces of this new vision push the boundaries of economy…
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Air China, the second operator of the 747-8i passenger version, has just taken delivery of it’s new ‘Queen of the Skies’ with an interior designed by London based transport and hospitality design specialists, JPA Design. This is the same studio that brought one of the best seats to the skies, with the Singapore Airlines 777…
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There has been talk of flights between Hawaii and Europe for years, and the latest news of Norwegian Airlines and Oslo airport being in discussions with Honolulu is nothing surprising, as it is a market that is terribly underserved. We know all too well as we make the trip every 10 months or so. But…
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Qantas, the day after their inaugural launch of their A380 service to Dallas Fort Worth, announced their brand new Darwin lounge for their premium cabin and valued frequent flyers. The new space is more than double the space of the previous incarnation, which whilst comfortable, wasn’t really anything to write home about. The new space,…
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We covered the A380 roll out for Etihad a few days ago, but their quick succession in rolling out their 787-9 colours shows the world how the livery transposes onto more regularly-shaped airframes. Last night the airline revealed their new 787-9, a proportionally more aesthetic aircraft, with a tail that has been circulating on social media for a few…
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The fact Etihad has a new livery is not a secret anymore, with tail fins on both the A380 and 787 surfacing a few weeks back on social media, with speculation rife on whether these were special one off liveries, or a sporty new look for the relatively young carrier. But this evening in Hamburg…
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We love it when airlines compete against each other to fight for passengers. The end result is a better experience for the travellers. Virgin Australia today announced their brand new business product which will start being rolled out early next year for both domestic and international routes on their wide body fleet. The familiar reverse…
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Liveries around the world are the calling cards for hundreds of different airlines. For some they are the passengers only interaction with the brand image of the airline, so as they park up at the gates of airports globally, they need to be able to communicate the values and concepts that each airline brand stands for.…
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Those of you have flown through Frankfurt Am Main airport will know how the airport is a metropolis of buildings and gates, servicing hundreds of flights a day all around the world – overwhelming at first, the airport has announced their designs for their new Terminal 3, situated on the southern Apron of the airport. The…
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The new Spirit planes. Spirit are the latest low cost carrier to revisit their branding, just a few days after both frontier and southwest, following a trend that TheDesignAir predicted last week. The new design fits with the new website and brand positioning that has been rolled out, offering a simple bold message, with a…
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Last year, we covered Thomas Cook’s new brand image, and it seems the carrier has now brought their interior cabin offering in line with their new brand. The new cabin brings the charter airline’s hard product inline with mainline carriers economy cabins. New food offerings, inflight entertainment and seats are going to make the journeys from…
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By Marisa Garcia | Engineers at Airbus’ A320 Family paint shop in Hamburg, Germany, just developed a unique methodology to radically improve the creative options available to airlines and brand managers by making it possible to directly print livery on the fuselage using inkjet printers–resulting in a faster and more efficient painting process which also allows…
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Sometimes when concepts come along at thedesignair.net we get excited, as they often push the boundaries of the ‘plain plane’ and give us reason to stop and re-evaluate what we consider as the standard experience for today. TEAGUE, with its 80 years of design history, teamed up with ultra-hi-tech Nike to look at the plane environment…
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Kenya Airways has recently announced their design concepts for their new lounges, opening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. This announcement comes after the airline has already started renewing its fleet with 777s and 787s lifting the carrier’s inflight hard product, making it a competitive and comfortable carrier to travel with. The new…
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Talk to any designer after a few drinks, and the usual story will come up, that “design is cyclical and everything that we see now has been seen before”. Bear with us a bit, but Southwest’s refreshed logo and livery speaks volumes to this concept. Southwest Airlines today, officially (compared to the leaked images on social…
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One of this centuries greatest architects, Lord Norman Foster, the brainchild behind revolutionary airport designs such as London Stansted, Hong Kong International Airport and Beijing’s new airport, has teamed up with architect Fernando Romero, FR-EE (Fernando Romero Enterprise) and NACO (NetherlandsAirport Consultants) to design Mexico City’s new international airport. “At 555,000 square metres, it will be…
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