It’s Not the 1950’s And It’s Not Mad Men’s latest set. This is in fact British Airways‘ latest lounge to open, in Aberdeen. It might not have the most footfall of all BA lounges with only a handful of flights each day on regional aircraft, but the space will be welcome to passengers. We can’t…
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British Airways and fellow oneworld passengers flying from Rome’s Fiumicino airport can now have their own slice of Gattica inspired luxury thanks to a newly launched lounge. This lounge is the spearhead of its £4.5bn investment to benefit its customers, revamping lounges across its network, starting with this opening in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and the result…
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Yes, these sparkly new seats are on British Airways, in fact they are already being rolled out on the carrier’s ‘sunshine routes’ from their hub in Gatwick. Retrofitting their fleet of 777s means they are removing some of their business class cabin to fit a larger World Traveller Plus cabin and even sneak in a…
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British Airways has just revamped its award-winning flagship Concorde Room at Heathrow T5, exclusive to British Airways’ customers travelling in the airline’s First cabin. The refurb has once again drawn inspiration from the ‘very best’ of British Design. The refurbishment to the airline’s exclusive lounge included re-upholstering iconic pieces of furniture, and adding new feature pieces to the…
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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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We expect the news of British Airways’ new partnership will bright a sigh of relief to frequent fliers of the airline. The White Company and British Airways today announced its plans to improve the bedding and amenity kit offering for Business Class passengers, following similar moves from the likes of Delta, SAS and United. Later this year,…
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First, let us start by saying, we welcome – nay applaud – investment into a new Club World product for British Airways. The past few months and steerage of new CEO Alex Cruz has seen consistent cuts to the product, at a time when it needed serious investment. Ticket prices have been constantly higher than…
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This week saw the announcement of Iberia’s new premium economy product that will be rolled out across 37 of the carrier’s long-haul fleet. Iberia will be the 7th oneworld carrier to introduce a real ‘premium’ economy product, and will mean the carrier can offer a more aligned product with sister carrier British Airways. There is…
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We’ve been lucky enough to visit the Heritage Centre in Waterside for British Airways, which is filled to the gills with memorabilia and BA branded goods, most items are only available to visitors of the head offices of the airline. The curator of the Heritage Centre, Paul Jarvis, has just authored a new book illustrating British Airways’ history and…
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British Airways have just refurbished the Club World Galleries South lounge in T5A, just a couple of weeks after they refurbished their First Lounge in T5. A new furniture layout has been created in the lounge to enhance individual seating and increase privacy through the use of screens and high backed chairs. As part of…
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British Airways this week announced they will start flying from Stansted to four sunshine routes starting May 28th. This will be the fourth major London airport the carrier will fly from, including Heathrow and Gatwick and London City, leaving only London Luton currently unserved by the carrier. The airlines latest route network, operated by BA Cityflyer’s…
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Flight: BA073 Aircraft Type: B787-9 Class: ‘First’ First Class Route: LHR-AUH-MCT Date: January 2016 http://www.ba.com We were curious last year to see how British Airways new First product on their 787-9 were going to reinvent the first class experience, but when we had the chance to experience the product first-hand (forgive the pun) we jumped at the chance to see why…
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British Airways have never been shy of embracing new technology. They were the first airline to create a digital app back in 2008. That year, some 118,000 added it to their device and in 2015, it has topped the five million mark. During the last seven years the airline has updated their app with new functionality 32 times,…
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Changi Singapore has just welcomed a new lounge courtesy of design studio Graven. Housing the Concorde Lounge put together by Honour Branding that we covered earlier this month, this opening marks the eighth Lounge that Graven has designed for British Airways, in locations ranging from Edinburgh to Washington Dulles. Ross Hunter, Director at Graven said: “BA is one of…
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Today marks the launch of British Airways‘ brand new Concorde Bar in Singapore Changi airport Terminal 1. This marks the first in a series of luxury British Airways Concorde lounges opening across the world, designed by London based brand experience company Honour. The bar, named after the carriers original supersonic flagship aircraft, is exclusively available for BA’s…
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The Abu Dhabi – London route has pretty much been ruled by Etihad since their introduction of their award-winning A380. However, British Airways are fighting back, with the announcement of their new 787-9 First Class product that will soon be flying the city pairs (and on to Muscat) Whilst the cabin still is nothing really compared…
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London has just received a new pay for lounge concept from Swissport and ALD. Competing against the likes of Plaza Premium Lounge within Heathrow’s fences, this new pay-as-you-go space is the first of its kind in Terminal 5, allowing BA and Iberia passengers in economy or without elite status to still enjoy a bit of pampering…
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Flight: BA27 Aircraft: Boeing 777-300 Class: World Traveller (economy) Seat: 30A Route: LHR-HKG Date: June 2015 Frequent flyer program: BA Executive Club / Avios. Part of the OneWorld Alliance http://www.britishairways.com British Airways 777-300ER Economy Class Report Written for TheDesignAir by Zoe Belhomme | As a Hong Kong-based British expat I find myself travelling between London and Hong Kong at least three…
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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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This month we are turning our eyes to the outside of the aircraft. Usually bright and colorful, these calling cards fill international airports with a myriad of designs. A livery, if designed correctly, can convey the brand experience that takes place inside. Each year, our judges (including some new faces) sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark and ticking the right…
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In a new wave of patent submissions, British Airways are perhaps going back on their original herringbone concept that they submitted last year. The patent, filed last year but only recently published, shows off a wave of innovative seating arrangements. Whilst most of the patent references the seating configuration rather than the seats themselves, there are…
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We all know the story of the ill-fated Eos, MaxJet and SilverJet, who sadly all ceased operations during the credit crunch a few years ago. The only surviver, L’Avion, was snapped up by British Airways, who turned the carrier around, rebranding it British Airways “OpenSkies”. The carrier since, has continued operations, flying between Paris (Orly) 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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They’re back! TheDesignAir has partnered with our strategic print partner Airways magazine to bring you an updated and regular Top 10 lists for 2015. This year starting with our Top 10 International First Classes 2015. As well as appearing online, they will appear in print in every monthly issue of Airways magazine, available around the world.…
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Qantas have been very busy this year, revealing a whole host of lounges around the world. Qantas has already had a functioning Business Class lounge since June in Los Angeles, but December 2014 launched the all-new Qantas First Class Lounge for customers travelling from Los Angeles’ TBIT terminal. There are some nods to the original flagship…
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This will be very welcome news to the majority of British Airways travellers, who travel with the airline’s real backbone of the fleet, on their 747s. The Queen of the Skies has been around for years, and is still one of the most popular aircraft for long haul travellers, but with the advent of the newer…
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So it isn’t often we think ourselves as that awkward L-shaped brick from classic computer game Tetris, but fundamentally that’s how aircraft seat designers see us. Unfortunately-shaped wedges that have to fit neatly into a rectangular shape. In a constant fight to give airline passengers more space, more comfort and a better quality experience, the…
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When Qantas released images of their new lounge in Hong Kong back in April, we wanted to dig a little deeper into the design ethos of the new lounge, brought to us by Sumu Design, an architecture and interior design company based in Australia. We talk exclusively to Felice Carlino, the director of the agency…
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Qantas have been busy over the past few months, opening new lounges around the world. The latest, in LAX’s TBIT terminal, opened yesterday in partnership with their good friends and One World carriers British Airways and Cathay Pacific. The new (and vast) space, designed by Woods Bagot, has been long awaited and compliments the terminal’s other spacious and…
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British Airways have just released images of their brand new interiors for their short haul fleet. The airline it has announced it will be refitting 95 (not all) of its short haul fleet with these slick new contemporary designs, which fit closer in-line to their long haul fleet offering. The new cabins will be available…
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