We caught up with Daniel Baron, founder of LIFT Strategic Design, the design studio behind the latest Philippine Airlines A330-300 cabin. It’s safe to say LIFT has had a long standing relationship with PAL over the years, “we have worked with PAL on thirteen different seat programs over the past decade, starting with their…
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Today saw Hawaiian Airlines bring their latest livery and logo to the skies emblazened on a freshly-painted Boeing 717. The new livery has been painstakingly refreshed to bring the carrier’s Aloha spirit forward into the 21st century. Pualani (Flower of the Sky), the beloved icon of Hawaiian’s brand for more than four decades “continues to…
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Today, Qantas revealed its next-generation Premium Economy seat, which will debut on the airline’s brand new fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that start flying in October 2017. In comparison to Qantas’ other Premium Economy seats, these new seats are wider and offer more functional space overall. The new seat also has a unique recline motion that provides a…
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There is a lot of global attention on the new presidency in the US right now. While many have watched with their head in their hands recently and others have had their head in the sand, we’ve compiled some additional more reasons it might be good to book a flight sometime soon to escape the…
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JAL today announced a new cabin enhancement for their 777-200ER fleet which would ‘raise the bar one class above in all cabin services” according to a press release from the carrier today. The brand new business class dubbed “JAL Sky Suite 777 (SS2)” will launch on the Tokyo Haneda – Bangkok route from July 2016.…
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Watch out Fiji Airways, there is a new boutique airline vying for the attention of the Pacific. Hawaiian Airlines today revealed their plans to install a brand new lie-flat first class (or International business class) product that matches international business class standards. We are thrilled, as finally Hawaiian have concreted their position as the true owner of…
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Vietnam Airlines has officially launched its new corporate identity as part of its ‘four-star service upgrade.’ The brand launch coincides with their rollout of brand new B787-9 Dreamliner and A350-900 XWB aircraft and marks a major leap forward in the flag carrier’s plans to establish itself as one of Asia’s premier airlines by 2020. Whilst the…
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United Airlines announced this week it was bringing new Global First and Business First amenity kits to the skies. Beginning Aug. 1, 2015, the airline will exclusively offer Soho House’s London based ‘Cowshed’ skin-care products onboard in newly redesigned amenity kits for premium-cabin customers on intercontinental flights. Also, a collection of Cowshed products will be available in many…
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It has been a busy year for Business Class, with a staggering array of new products being launched as carriers fight for their most lucrative passenger base. Our list contains some surprises, with familiar names falling off and lesser-known carriers appearing. Generally speaking, the products scored lower this year, possibly because consumers’ expectations are rising. The judges looked, as always, at hard and soft product first— but the very highest…
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Today Brussels Airlines and Moulinsart unveiled something that we absolutely adore. An Airbus A320 with a livery inspired by the world famous Belgian cartoon character Tintin. Both Belgian companies have worked several months on this unique project, based on the original drawings by the hand of Hergé. Infront of plane enthusiasts and VIP guests, Brussels Airlines and…
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This month we delve into that quiet and revered airport sanctuary! TheDesignAir once again, with strategic print partner Airways magazine bring you the very best Top 10 Airport Lounges in the world 2015. As well as appearing online, they will appear in print in every monthly glossy issue of Airways magazine, available around the world. We are impressed with the…
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It’s that time again, and the judges have voted for their Top 10 Liveries for 2014. Each year the judges sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark. This year some familiar faces return, and some get booted out of the top 10, and there are even a…
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Our TheDesignAir Top 10 lists have undergone a revamp in 2014, and to aid transparency, our top 10 airlines will now have their rating out of 100 shown, as voted for and calculated by our judging panel. What is interesting for our Top 10 International business classes 2014 is the wide ranging percentage scores within the top…
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Holy smokes, another safety video from Air New Zealand? Hell, why not? The previous, dubbed “Safety Old School Style” features America’s sweetheart comedienne Betty White and a cast of golden oldies. Past Air New Zealand safety video hits have included the Hobbit-themed ‘An Unexpected Briefing’, ‘Fit to Fly’ starring fitness guru Richard Simmons and more recently…
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Our friends at Hawaiian have just released a video time-lapse of the painting of their very first ATR. Whilst we announced this a while ago, secretly we’ve been waiting for the chance to see this livery for real. The new aircraft are absolutely stunning and are yet another winning livery for the pacific –…
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So the votes are in. American Airlines employees have voted, and the figures have been totted up. The new American tail stays. According to airchive, there were 60,418 voters, which accounts for 60% of their staff. Interestingly, 31,355 people voted in favour of the tail. We can save you the math. That’s 52%. Not exactly…
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It’s no secret that we weren’t fans of American’s new livery when it came out, and although we loved the new 777 premium cabins, we thought the livery was missing the mark, being overtly American, one thing that Internationally has always been a nationalistic stereotype picked up on by the rest of the global community.…
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Royal Brunei, when we reported on their new livery and look a while ago, didn’t inspire us too much, their artists impressions made the aircraft look flat and badly proportioned. Now we like to think they saw our comments and made a few tweaks, but realistically, we know that the aircraft reality and artists impressions can…
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Our good friends at Fiji Airways, winner of the best livery 2013 in our Top 10 Liveries have now extended their brand to the domestic and regional carrier Pacific Sun. Pacific Sun, since the new re-branding of Fiji’s International airline, has been at odds with the earthy colours and sophisticated cabins, although obviously the friendly and…
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This year there have been many new lounges appearing around the world. Each offering a unique level of luxury and identity that has meant a broad and interesting collection of spaces in a variety of spaces. Excellent spaces that didn’t make the list, but should still be commended, include Virgin America’s ‘The Loft‘ in LAX,…
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Our friends, and one of our favourite airlines, Air New Zealand are no stranger to producing safety videos, in fact they produce a new one with alarmingly increasing regularity. The latest, dubbed “Safety Old School Style” features America’s sweetheart comedienne Betty White and a cast of golden oldies. Past Air New Zealand safety video hits have included…
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As part of Cathay Pacific‘s continued redevelopment and enhancement of their in-flight offering, the airline announced today the launch of their new business class amenity kit for flights to and from Hong Kong. In a move familiar around the world, the airline has partnered with a beauty house, this time featuring products from Jurlique, a…
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Starting our series of competitive routes around the world, we are breaking down the details of what each airline has to offer to help you find the perfect airline for you for your trip. To start with, we are looking at Los Angeles to London Heathrow. In this post we are looking at the business…
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We are great fans of an atmospheric advertising campaign, and whilst we love to see hard product in all it’s glory, it is seemingly a more becoming way to advertising the product you have by creating an emotional connection, something that can be quite challenging with a 70 ton piece of machinery. Singapore Airlines have…
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We are great fans of Marc Newson and what he is achieving at Qantas with regards to design. The lounges in Sydney are spectacular (and won our Top 10 Lounges last year) and his attempts at pulling the fleet into the 21st century have been very successful. (perhaps in part due to the competition arisen…
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Oh dear. Sometimes a Facebook page isn’t such a good idea. Last week Air Canada showcased images of their new cabin on their Facebook page. As we reported back in February, the new 777-300 they have brought to their fleet was been configured in what can only be described as a step above “sardine tin”.…
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Whilst Virgin Atlantic has been seen as a forward thinking leader in the airline field (although now with a wealth of other airlines also in the same field) it seems a nod to a bit of nostalgia is on the cards for their uniforms, which we announced a few months ago, are now designed by…
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Singapore Airlines has been the epitome of luxury for many years now. Many airlines look to the airline, not only for the product they have onboard, but the way that Singapore Airlines effortlessly conveys luxury and sophistication. Singapore Airlines has not failed to deliver on their latest incarnation of products which will replace the current fleets…
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Tiger Airways, now Tiger Air, has just gone through a rebranding exercise, gone the tiger, and instead a large bold logo adorns the fuselage of the aircraft. We have to say we are a little saddened by this. The tiger, whilst a little bit ‘clipart’, was a great logo, and this new logo is purely…
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Cathay Pacific have recently managed to swell their schedule to a whopping 5 flights a day to London, UK. That additional daily return flight means that there will now be 35 flights a week between London and Hong Kong. Flown predominantly on their 777 fleet, the airline is fighting the middle eastern carrier supremacy at one of the world’s…
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