Air France has just opened an exciting new lounge space dedicated to Business Class travellers and Flying Blue Elite Plus members travelling through the airline’s short and medium-haul Schengen network. It’s no small affair, as this lounge is one of the airline’s largest, with a surface area of no less than 3,000 sq. m. catering to 570 seats…
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All attention this week might have been on JetBlue’s much anticipated entry in to the TransAtlantic race, but with it came a nifty little amenity for passengers in coach that we absolutely love. Developed in collaboration with JetBlue – Formia, the international guest amenity and hospitality specialist – the new kits are now available on the airline’s highly anticipated transatlantic…
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AVIC Cabin Services is more than just AIM altitude and Thompson Aero Seating, however those will be more familiar names than Jiatai. However, it’s one company and part of the group not to be overlooked. Jiatai’s new JT220B Business Class and JT220E Economy Class seats are a result of the company’s strategy, supported by ACS,…
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United Airlines, now profitable once again has firmly set its stall as a leading Passenger Experience airline, vying for market dominance through modern, comfortable cabins that give passengers what they want: more space, more entertainment and more choice. This is something we applaud and have been promoting as the right approach to winning over customer…
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We’ve been drowning in a sea of short-term hygiene messages across the last year as airlines have rapidly ‘masked up’ in order to win over what little passenger volume there has been. Today’s passengers have been assaulted by marketing imagery of planes being scrubbed within an inch of their life, crew in body suits and…
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Airbus is soon to bring its first A320 family Airspace cabin to the market thanks to JetBlue’s new A321 which will be flying in just a few months’ time. Airbus has just recently started flight testing of the first Airspace Single-Aisle aircraft. A second phase of in-flight testing will take place in February to validate…
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Geven is working with UK design agency PriestmanGoode on a new family of next-generation aircraft seats. This isn’t the first time the two companies have crossed paths. In fact, Geven’s Comoda AQ seats (the same product found in recently delivered Uganda Airlines’ A330 premium economy) were the same hard product in Priestmangoode’s South African Airlines short-haul…
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Aviation is awash with blue. Approximately a decade ago, the skies were filled with blue liveries, interiors lined wall-to-wall with blue seats, carpets, and uniforms in every shade of navy. While design studios have gradually peeled airline brands away from such a strong design vertical, what caused such visual dominance in the industry?
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As part of our continued evolution we’ve now created a new round up video which we’ll release regularly to help summarise some of the latest advancements in airline and airport passenger experience that we feature on the site. Now is your chance to sign up, subscribe, like and comment on the videos as we craft…
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Throughout 2020, we’ve seen the great efforts airlines have made to quickly adapt the passenger experience from check-in all the way through to onboard. However, airports across the world have also had to play a part in enhancing social distancing and help space out the flow of passengers throughout terminals and gate areas. Luckily, both…
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TAP Portugal is well known as one of the cheapest Star Alliance carriers, however, with the addition of its new Airbus Neo fleet, the aging business class cabin (albeit comfortable) has been given a new lease of life thanks to brand new Recaro seats.
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Uganda Airlines might not be on everyones radar. But that’s because until last week, the carrier just operated a modest fleet of four Bombardier CRJ900’s. Resurrected from its predecessor that last flew in 2001, the latest incarnation spread its wings a little over a year ago, but seemingly has big plans. With aircraft bought by…
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2020 has seen the rule book thrown out of the window. Carriers that have adapted quickly will see the largest market share in 2021. While many airlines continue to struggle just to survive day-to-day, some have taken this as an opportunity to level the playing field. While clear regional battles are at play across Asia,…
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COVID-19 has certainly kept airlines on their toes, and while many airlines are frantically trying to get their operations off the ground once again, there’s been an unusual, yet somewhat expected side effect. For years airlines have strived to become lifestyle brands, as relevant in the home as they are in the skies. The problem…
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Virtual reality has been around for a while, its use however within the aviation sector is increasing. Many design studios now have adopted this way of modelling cabin interiors and seat designs to expedite the creative process and visualise the end product with a high quality interactive render. There is clear benefit on both sides…
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You might have seen in the news, that airlines are increasingly turning to UV (and in particular UVC) to sanitise their fleets. Only in the past few weeks JetBlue adopted a new trolley-based light sanitisation station that’s wheeled through the cabin to disinfect the cabin in approximately 10 minutes. Why UV light? While UVA and…
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Unless you’ve had your head under a rock, you might have noticed that airlines are struggling to survive right now. Their entire model is based on free movement between destinations, a right that has since been rescinded by the global governments who are trying to get a grip on the pandemic. As such, airlines are…
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Friday July 17, 2020 saw another casualty due to the Coronavirus. British Airways announced that its fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft, also known as ‘The Queen of the Skies’, are likely to have flown their last scheduled commercial service. While that might not mean ‘never-ever’, unless there is an unprecedented swing back to normality the…
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Nolinor the well known charter outfit from Canada has created a scheduled offshoot low cost carrier called ‘Off We Go’ or OWG as the livery would have us know. Apparently launching end of August it’s determined to brush off the Coronavirus stigma facing the travel sector and start affordable flights from its home in Quebec…
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With such a fast changing narrative around Coronavirus it’s difficult for airlines to plan for a post-Covid future. From social distancing to personal shields, designers have been supporting airlines across the globe, working quickly to help navigate the scale and impact of such a widespread pandemic. Most solutions created have answered a problem, whether it’s…
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Yesterday saw the opening of the brand-new Terminal B Arrivals and Departures Hall at LaGuardia Airport, the biggest milestone to date in the airport’s ongoing $8 billion transformation into a 21st century airport. The project – one of the largest public private partnerships in aviation history – includes the demolition and replacement of every terminal…
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Factorydesign certainly hasn’t let Covid-19 stifle its creative streak. In yet another innovative concept, this time aimed more at the LCC model, the London based design studio has created yet another confidence-inducing personal shield which has application beyond the cover-19 pandemic. Based on the mental and physical comfort considerations that cautious travellers are considering, the…
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Etihad Airways is the latest airline to announce its wellness strategy to rebuild confidence and increase reassurance. Dubbed ‘Etihad Wellness’, the carrier has outlined its expanded and more comprehensive health and hygiene programme in an accessible customer guide. In a direct response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the programme will be championed by the introduction of specially…
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TheDesignAir is pleased to share a free-to-download White paper on the ‘Future of Travel’, reflecting on the changes to the passenger experience post-Covid19. Founder of the site, Jonny Clark, explores gradual shifts and changes we can expect to see across the airline industry, both on the ground and in the skies. The major changes we…
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While the team are doing their bit to help fight this pandemic and staying indoors, it’s also making us a little stir crazy as our wings have been clipped, at least for the coming weeks or months. Like many others out there, we’ve been finding ourselves going through our archives, going online and longing for…
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As the phrase goes, “good things come in small packages.” In 2018, the airline industry carried 4.4billion passengers. It has become an integral part of human life, but it’s also an industry of behemoth players. In fact, in 2018, the top 10 airline groups transported over one third of the entire annual traffic, leaving the…
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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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2019 has seen yet another year of great innovation, new products, new airlines, new lounges and new airport facilities across the globe. It just goes to show how quickly the industry continues to evolve and respond to the ever-increasing needs of an airline passenger. Just before this year, or even this decade, comes to a…
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This could be the coolest thing to grace our desk all year. Two things we love. Concorde, and Aston Martin. In British Airways’ centenary year and on the anniversary of Concorde’s final flight, the carrier announced a partnership with Aston Martin, cumulating in a limited-edition sports car that honours the supersonic aircraft. The luxury British car manufacturer…
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