Today saw the official approval of Qantas’ long-awaited Project Sunrise, something that was postponed a few years due to COVID. With the announcement that the airline will order 12 A350-1000 aircraft capable of flying from Sydney direct to London and New York, which will see the longest and furthest flights in the world. But that…
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The new incarnation of Virgin Australia has continued its previous tradition of offering a very special lounge to its most prestigious guests. Today saw the curtain lift on the airline’s long-awaited invitation-only private ‘Beyond Lounges’ in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, reserved for corporate partners, some high-status Velocity Frequent Flyer members and key opinion leaders throughout…
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It’s been a pretty big day for Australia, with international borders opened, Qantas starting the relaunch of its international network and also the day domestically Victoria-New South Wales borders have re-opened. To celebrate, rival Virgin Australia has given us a look at what its refurbished Melbourne Lounge will look like and unveiled a new and…
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The aviation landscape in Australia may have shifted quite dramatically over the past few months, with new regional entrant Rex looking to take on Qantas on the main Melbourne – Sydney shuttle route and Virgin Australia re-emerging as a mid market carrier, and there’s even talk that Qantas isn’t taking project Sunrise off the table…
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In the second of our Flygge series, we turn our eyes to Qantas. ‘Flygge’, a wordplay on Hygge – the Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment – is TheDesignAir’s name for this new emerging airline trend where brands are now becoming a part…
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Sydney’s International Terminal has just welcomed a brand new pay-for lounge for departing passengers. The new Plaza Premium Lounge, situated opposite Gate 25 of Pier B is the brand’s third addition in Australia joining locations in Melbourne and Brisbane. It’s the latest of a wave of lounges being opened by the brand, which now boasts over…
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This month saw Qantas and Air New Zealand both launch new safety videos. While both have taken different approaches, the premise of celebrating their national heritage and importance in their market is what ties them together. Qantas Qantas, who is celebrating its centenary – no mean feat in the current aviation climate – takes a…
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TheDesignAir is thrilled to announce the 2019 award winners as voted for by our esteemed judging panel and our readers. Year after year, we see more improvements and enhancements across the passenger experience, from narrow to wide bodies to lounges and airports around the globe. We showcase the 2019 winners here.
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On the 2nd December, just over 2 weeks away, we will see the grand opening of the new Qantas first class lounge in Singapore’s Changi International Airport. The lounge follows a wave of ground and inflight product improvements that are helping positioning the carrier as a true luxury, design-led proposition. In the meantime, select passengers…
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Last week saw Zaha Hadid Architects and Cox Architecture win the international design competition for the new Western Sydney Airport (WSA) and have been appointed as Master Architect for the project. The ZHA/COX team was selected from a broad field of forty national and international applicants that was narrowed to five selected design competitors. The…
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The latest renderings of Fiji Airways‘ A350 have showcased what their cabin and livery will look like – and quite frankly both are stunning. The airline, while opting for an incredibly minimalist design inside their latest airframe, has managed to encapsulate the feeling of a private jet with crisp lines and clean white and grey…
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It’s no surprise that we are slightly enamoured with Philippine Airlines, especially in the last few years where the carrier has invested heavily in to its hard and soft product. The upgraded 777s and the brand-spanking-new A350s push the carrier well above its previous product offering, and is fast becoming an interesting alternative to the…
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Following the soft-opening of their Melbourne lounge earlier this year, Qantas has completed a major upgrade of its domestic lounges at the Airport, providing customers with more seats, an Asian spice bar and premium designs inspired by Melbourne’s landscape. The new Domestic Business Lounge and Qantas Club have been completely redesigned to use space more…
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Yesterday Qantas revealed a striking new special livery for a brand new 787-9 Dreamliner being delivered to the airline. Comprised of approximately 5,000 dots (get counting!), the new design is striking both from near and afar. The new livery features the work of the late Northern Territory artist and senior Anmatyerre woman, Emily Kame Kngwarreye.…
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Qantas has unveiled its first Boeing Dreamliner, the much anticipated aircraft that will “open up new routes and new levels of comfort for travellers.” The latest addition to the Qantas fleet, the 787-9 Dreamliner features next generation seating in Economy, a new Premium Economy and Business Class, with added space and a lower passenger count than…
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This week saw Cathay, Qantas and British Airways launch a wave of new flights, adding options and increasing the oneworld global network. British Airways has added to its Gatwick leisure network by introducing Toronto and re-establishing Las Vegas in direct competition to Virgin Atlantic’s city pair. This now means BA serves Las Vegas from both…
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Qantas has unveiled a new range of inflight tableware by Australian Industrial Designer and lead designer of the Qantas 787 Dreamliner cabin interiors, David Caon. The range includes crockery by Noritake, cutlery and glassware. In a collaboration with Qantas’s long-standing Creative Director Food, Beverage & Service Neil Perry, David Caon has designed this new range…
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Qantas has a long history of providing opportunities for Australian artists to connect with global audiences. Their latest initiative puts current Australian artists at the heart of their business passenger experience. Starting May 1st, a new range of amenity kits will be rolled out across international flights with new designs being rolled out each month. With artworks…
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Next week sees the doors open to Qantas‘ latest lounge in Brisbane, Australia. The domestic lounge is the latest addition to a multi-million pound upgrade at the airport. The upgrade began in October 2016 with the opening of a new International Lounge and will be completed in the coming months with an upgraded Qantas Club and new Chairmans…
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TheDesignAir was just given the opportunity to try out the new Qantas VR App, currently available on the Google Play and Apple App stores. The new app allows consumers to instantly transport themselves to Australia and explore a wide range of different environments in full virtual reality. This relatively new app for Qantas echoes the…
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Qantas today revealed a new livery and brand image for the carrier. This is only the fifth time the iconic red-and-white ‘Roo’ tail of Qantas aircraft has been updated since it was first introduced in 1944. The last update was actually more recent than you might realise, as it was tweaked with the introduction of the Airbus A380 back…
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Qantas today announced it is starting construction on its new Brisbane lounge in a few weeks in a bid to “redefine the travel experience.” It follows hot on the heels of the airline’s development of their award-winning Hong Kong and Singapore Lounges. The airline has opted to combine the two current lounges (First and Business) into…
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Hot off the heels of their A330 refresh, Virgin Australia today unveiled its new International Business Class cabin, with the first of its refitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft now flying across the Pacific. This comes after their announcement of the refresh back in 2014. “The airline’s flagship Business Class product ‘The Business’, new Business Class Bar…
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Monday saw the opening of Etihad Airways new Premium Lounge at Melbourne Airport, which comes to life just a couple of weeks ahead of the new A380 service between the city pair. Located in Terminal 2 adjacent to gate 10, the lounge will open approximately three hours prior to the departure of Etihad Airways twice daily Melbourne-Abu…
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London seems to be gaining a lot of new lounges this year, with OneWorld carriers Cathay Pacific and Qantas both giving a facelift to their ground operations. The Australia carrier announced last week that the next location for its flagship global lounge will be at Heathrow airport with construction to begin in September 2016. While T3 in…
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Qantas has just launched a brand new safety video that showcases Australia in all its natural glory. From an oxygen mask demonstration at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart to a life-jacket demonstration at Bondi Icebergs, the video will be introduced across Qantas’ domestic and international fleet from today, as well as featuring…
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Premium Japanese carrier ANA has announced they will be introducing their super-spacious 787-9 Dreamliner on a brand new Tokyo Haneda – Sydney route on December 11th this year. Whilst this new non-stop flight is still subject to governmental approval, passengers on the ever-popular Kangaroo route will welcome the news of increased competition and enhanced products…
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It’s a big announcement for Oneworld today. Qantas and American Airlines have just announced a significant expansion of their longstanding relationship, which will see the US carrier fly from Los Angeles to Sydney for the first time and Qantas return to San Francisco. Qantas will return to the Sydney-San Francisco route – currently the most…
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By out latest TheDesignAir contributor Zoe Belhomme | The first plane to have flown the world’s longest commercial flight from London to Sydney bid its final farewell to the skies last week before heading to its retirement home at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in New South Wales. The Qantas Boeing 747-400 made the 15-minute…
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Flight: EY11 Aircraft Type: A380 Class: First Class “Apartments” Route: AUH-LHR Flight time: 7:25 Seat: 1H Date: Februrary 2015 http://www.etihad.com Best for: Anyone who can afford it. Suitable for those who have to travel a long way and value space, service and comfort above all else. The crowd: An almost-full cabin. With ultimate privacy, it was hard to say, but mainly top level executive travellers.…
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