Cathay Pacific have really pushed their investment into the passenger experience by launching last week their new ‘Bridge’ lounge. The 6th lounge to grace Hong Kong International airport sits alongside The Cabin (launched in 2010), The Arrival (launched 2008), The Pier (2001) and the recently updated ‘Wing’ (first launched in 1998) and of course their…
Read More
We do love a well designed terminal here at thedesignair.net. Whatsmore, one that manages to successfully combine passenger needs and beautiful design. So when we saw these renderings for the new Changi airport that were revealed today, we were thrilled! The airport has announced on the day of its groundbreaking that “with the construction of…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
We reckon, unless you lived in the regions this airline flies to, you wouldn’t have heard of an airline with over 40 years of flying behind it. The national airline of Papua New Guinea has always been seen as an airline not of choice, but necessity. However, things have changed for Air Niugini with an update…
Read More
Cathay Pacific have recently been injecting time and effort into ensuring their cabin products stay at the forefront of people’s minds. The award winning first class suite, first seen onboard in 2007 wasn’t in need of a redesign, instead, a refresh was all that was needed to keep the cabin a premium product in almost…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
The livery Air New Zealand is the latest airline to revisit and refresh their livery, in a recent flood of new livery designs. Their new livery (as announced earlier today by our antipodean friends at Australian Business Traveller) follows their original idea to change to an all-black tail and typeface treatment, something that they originally…
Read More
We are pleased to announce our Top 10 economy classes for 2013. We have scoured the world for airlines that have really shown us something truly special. Whilst many airlines didn’t make the list, we’d like to state that generally over the past 12 months, we have seen airlines around the world innovate and renovate…
Read More
We love architects drawings, if we could live in the universe that architects create we would be in a much happier place. There is no exception here. Australian architects, Woodhead‘s vision for Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta International Airport Terminal 3 look slick and elegant. Penned in for launch in 2015, this new 380,000m square terminal is expected…
Read More
Now that Batik Air, Lion Air’s latest ‘Premium’ venture, has been flying for a few weeks, we thought it best to take some time to take a look at this new carrier and what you can expect. Firstly, Let’s talk interiors. The whole premise of the airline is to fly passengers around the Asia region…
Read More
Garuda Indonesia has had a resurgence in the past few years, and as part of their ‘Quantum Leap’ program announced last year, Garuda have re-launched both their first class product (whilst other carriers continue to remove their products) and ‘executive’ business class. Now available to purchase on their new 777 fleet, the product is of…
Read More
Qantas seem to be grabbing all the press this week, their latest release is to mark the launch of their brand new uniform for their cabin crew being rolled out in early 2014. Designed by Australian designer Martin Grant, “The new uniform speaks of Australian style on the global stage.” says Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. The…
Read More
Meet Jordan’s latest airport. ‘The Queen Alia International Airport’ for Amman. Now officially open, this is the very latest architecture project to open in the area. Designed by countless award winning Foster + Partners, the new terminal heralds a new beginning for the airport, turning it into a competitive hub, fighting for passenger traffic between…
Read More
As JAL announced today that they were launching the JAL 777 ‘Sky Suite’ interior on their New York route as of May this year, we thought we would take a look at the new product that has already been rolled out on the London route as of January 2013. JAL has always been a solid…
Read More
It seems there has been quite the rumour-mill going on the past week over the apparent shift in Dragonair‘s new image, after leaked images of “Cathay Dragon” appeared overnight on the internet. Whilst the photoshopping on the images make it look more like a concept than reality for now, it seems there may be more…
Read More
So Malaysia Airlines has extended it’s outstanding ‘Chef-On-Call‘ service (previously only available to first class and platinum frequent fliers) so that travellers in Business Class can now choose their meal 24 hours before travel on certain international routes, meaning their dining options are increased and freshly prepared for their flight. A passenger can now pick…
Read More
When The Wing went under renovations late 2010, there were enough other lounges to accommodate their current passengers at Hong Kong’s International Airport. So perhaps most premium guests actually forgot about Cathay Pacific’s crown jewel. Luckily though, launched last week, is the brand new ‘The Wing’. Covering just under 1,700 sq meters, this a phenomenally…
Read More
So welcome to 2013, and business is booming (allegedly) so why not take a review of some of the best business classes available around the world right now. Whether it’s window shopping or a serious decision, our team of experts have scoured the world to find some of the most exclusive cabins available this year.…
Read More
So Royal Brunei Airlines might be an airline you’ve heard of if you’ve been trying to get a cheap ticket on the ‘Kangaroo route’ (Australia to Europe) as they often offer cheaper fares than some counterparts. However, not many people know about it’s image. It seems Royal Brunei have leapt into the 21st Century with…
Read More
By Raymond Kollau, airlinetrends.com Cathay Pacific has unveiled its new amenity kits for Premium Economy Class passengers which feature exclusive designs by home-grown Hong Kong brand G.O.D. (which stands for Goods of Desire). Cathay says its design collaboration with G.O.D. took inspiration from the “vibrant culture of Hong Kong, where East meets West and age-old traditions blend with…
Read More
Finnair‘s inflight product has always been efficient, clean and simple, perhaps seen by most as more ‘bland’ than ‘brand’. However, they have recently launched a brand new partnership with Finnish designer Marimekko to provide them with new table-wear and fabrics for their airline. Marimekko’s simple and elegant retro prints are all about great splashes of colour and…
Read More
Next year will see the demise of the almost 19 hour flight that connects Singapore to Newark, New York as flown by Singapore Airlines A340-500 series aircraft. It’s not that the route isn’t doing well, it’s because Singapore are trading in their ageing models to be used against the purchase of 5 new A380’s and…
Read More
As promised, here at DesignAir we evaluated airlines around the world to compile our definitive Top 10 list of Cool Airline Brands. Let us know if you agree, whether you think we’ve missed one, or what your top 10 would be at the bottom of the page! 10. Southwest Southwest Airlines could be seen as a…
Read More
Virgin Atlantic managed to top the polls in the CoolBrands List. The CoolBrands List has been running for 11 years and has featured the sexy red airline rather a lot. Sir Richard Branson’s airline was one of only two airlines to place, along with British Airways, However Virgin Atlantic placed 8th coolest brand in the…
Read More
Dining: Qatar Airways has yet again, gone above and beyond to try and create a truly unique product to compete with it’s slightly larger Middle Eastern counterparts. Four International chefs have been drafted in to enhance and develop their First Class and Business Class menu offerings flying from Doha in Qatar. The award-winning Chef Ramzi Choueiri,…
Read More
No real surprises that Virgin America sweeped the board, hosted in their home state, at the Passenger Choice Awards 2012 yesterday in Long Beach California (September 17th), pulling in a whopping 4 awards, encompassing Overall Passenger Experience (Up to 50 IFE equipped in fleet), Best in Region (Americas), Best User Interface and Best Cabin Ambiance.…
Read More
It seems the long-gone era of glamorous travel is fast diminishing, due to technological advances in the industry. Passengers are losing their connection to the airlines that they fly with, airlines are losing the communication points they used to have. ‘Tea? Coffee?” might be the only two words that a passenger could hear from their…
Read More