Incheon Airport ‘Inches In’ As World’s Best Airport 2012.

Bringing itself from a respectable 3rd place last year to “Top of the World”, Incheon International Airport has today been named as the World’s Best Airport at the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards™ 2012. The Skytrax Awards are voted by the public, so this is based on public opinion therefore not influenced by PR campaigns. Instead the…

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Virgin Atlantic’s New Upper Class Dream Suite Revealed

Virgin Atlantic doesn’t seem to disappoint with its new onboard Upper Class offering. Now available for view on their website, the brand new product is similar to that of the previous product, but it seems slicker, more streamlined, a lot more contemporary, and comfortable. The famour purple leather seat is gone, replaced with a slick…

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Frontier: Doctor Dolittle Has Been Talking To The Animals Again

Vladimir the Bat, Samson the Sloth, Doug the Dung Beetle, Chloe the Chipmunk and Enrique the Tree Frog seem like characters from a Disney film, however, they were the competitors against the winner ‘Polly the Parrot’ to become Frontier Airlines new Spokesanimal. Frontier whilst struggling in the North American market, have to have some of…

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United Look To Confuse Us Further With Even More Travel Options

Before the merger of United and Continental, United offered a plethora (not often I get to use that word!) of bolt-on options for your flight, from sending your luggage before you, to extra leg room, lounge access, priority security clearance, priority check in. These are apparently great revenue streams for the airline, all which have…

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Luxury Just Became More Luxurious

If you happen to have a wallet the size of an American State, you may be interested to see their latest BBJ that rolled out the factory recently. The Boeing BBJ uses a 737-700 frame with -800 wings to create an extra long range product that is more hotel than plane. With the interior put…

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BA’s New Website

Today was the launch of BA’s new site (well, sort of) with a new homepage with a big splash of inspirational images and more contemporary design. Whilst the website front page is a fantastic step in the right direction, and seemingly a vague copy of the new Virgin Atlantic homepage, British Airways have also made…

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Thomson Launch Their First 787 Route

Thomson, the first UK 787 operator, has announced its first 787 routes to Cancun in Mexico and Sanford in Florida. It is allowing the whole country to enjoy the flights, flying from not one, but four UK airports, Gatwick, East Midlands, Manchester and Glasgow. Thomson have got some great things planned for the plane including…

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Is it a game show? What a peach!

No, this isn’t an advert for a new Japanese game show. This was the launch of Japan’s first LCC’s uniform. Welcome to Peach! Still unsure of why it’s called Peach, but according to the airline, the name “Peach” was chosen for its symbolism as a well-known and much loved fruit that symbolizes longevity, energy and happiness…

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Could This Be The Start Of The Mile-high Club Dating Site?

Now, the Dutch are forward thinkers, and innovative, and have recently pushed a new scheme onboard based on your facebook or linkedin accounts. You are now able to sit next to like minded individuals as selected by certain parameters on your likes and information stored on your profile. Obviously this sounds like a great idea, especially if…

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A New Livery? Bingo!

Well, here it is! Bingo Airways’ new livery for their new A320 fleet. Bingo Airways is the new Polish Charter airline, who is flying exclusively to European sunshine destinations in Greece, Spain and slightly further afield. This bright Red and white livery is what can only be described as a Comic Sans / Willy Wonka…

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Checking In To The Virgin Atlantic HQ

Virgin Atlantic is the epitome of cool. It’s the one airline we all associate with being sexy and slick, and whilst Crawley might not be THE destination that everyone cool wants to go to, Virgin have made it a design mecca that we all want to visit. Home of the Virgin Atlantic HQ, the newly…

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Volotea: Europe’s New Vueling

A new airline has taken to the skies in Europe, flying from Venice Marco Polo. Volotea is the brainchild of Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, the creators of Vueling, and looks to be a contendor as one of Europe’s new metropolitan-style airlines, much like Vueling, serving main airports around the European network at convenient times with…

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Karl Lagerfeld’s Fashion-Copter Arrives

For the Fashionistas that are looking for that little something extra. A designer who isn’t shy of expanding his fashion empire, Karl Lagerfeld, has entered the aviation world partnering with AgustaWestland to create a VIP helicopter interior and exterior for its medium AW139 twin helicopter. This will be the starting point for their collaboration with…

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And The Eyes Have It.

Just when you thought your in-flight experience couldn’t get any more hi-tech, both Panasonic and Thales are bringing out a new ‘sci-fi’ user interface to try and enhance our in-flight experience. Perhaps off the back of the new X-Box Kinect technology, it seems that the ‘Minority Report’ way of interacting with computers is actually going…

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Air France Promotes ‘The Hub’: Its Biggest Ever Business Class Lounge

Since Virgin Atlantic launched their award winning flagship lounge in LHR in 2006, all eyes are turning to each airline’s lounge offering as a deciding factor in choosing business class travel. Air France has recently revealed details of its biggest ever business class lounge in the S4 boarding satellite at CDG, a joint project conducted by…

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The New Ryanair Inflight Magazine

Ryanair just announced to much fanfare they have reworked their only in-flight entertainment option to a smaller and ‘lighter’ product. Literally shaving centimetres off to making a compact A5 magazine. Whilst this is a smart move, reducing fuel burn and cutting costs, not to mention freeing up more space in the overhead bins for everyone’s…

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Could This Be The New Virgin Upper Class ‘Dream Suite’?

Direct from the US patent office, these schematics have been applied for by Virgin Atlantic, could this be their new seat. Nothing radical here from their previous offering, however it seems a little more streamlined around the head area than the previous suite. This could reduce the comfort slightly, but also provide a larger sense…

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Emirates New Movement “Hello Tomorrow”

Emirates has launched a new global brand direction, titled “Hello Tomorrow”, which now offers a new brand promise as the company continues its evolution from a travel brand to a global lifestyle brand. Further from Emirates, the new theme is “designed for the age of consumer engagement and empowerment, the new ad campaign is about inspiring…

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TheDesignAir Top 10 Liveries 2012

10. Tahiti Nui This livery is great in it’s natural habitat of the colours of the pacific. It’s a naturally warm and modern livery that encapsulates the natural wonders of the Pacific islands. It has clean bold lines and shapes that elegantly follow the shape of the plane whilst also incorporating more fluid and subtle…

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KLM to reinvent World Business Cabin

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has asked leading Dutch designer Hella Jongerius to revitalize its World Business Class cabin interior across the fleet. This will enable KLM to modernize its WBC product, uniting international allure with top Dutch design to emphasize a sense of pride in our Dutch heritage. “By choosing to work with Hella Jongerius,…

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Virgin Australia Reveals New 777 Interior

Virgin Australia have been trying to bring all their historic sub brands into line, and this latest development in their fleet has brought the Old V Australia brand into line with the rest of their fleet. A new leaf motif has been injected into the cabin, through the seats and carpet, and has been led…

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The British Airways Olympic Dove

British Airways recently revealed it’s special livery for the 2012 Olympics. It’s going to be painted on to 9 A319’s and will be used to celebrate the games. This was a winning entry by Pascal Anson, as part of BA’s ‘Great Britons’ competition to get the best in unknown art, food and film to work…

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Welcome to DesignAir

Welcome to DesignAir, the new blog dedicated to everything design in the world of aviation, from the latest liveries to the best in airline uniforms, new products and branding. As edited by Jonny Clark, one of the UK experts in in-flight design and branding, working with over 50 airlines, and pitching to over 100 in…

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