Hawaiian Airlines has finally introduced an elevated standard of leisure travel, inspired by early Polynesian voyages, with the unveiling of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner interior and much anticipated new class of premium service – the Leihōkū Suites. Guests onboard Hawaiian’s 787 – entering service beginning early next year on select routes – will be immersed…
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At the Arabian Travel Market at the end of May, flydubai, the Dubai-based carrier, unveiled its latest premium business class seat, offering passengers added comfort, privacy and an exceptional onboard experience. It’s actually the third business class seat revealed by the carrier in almost as many years which vary from staggered recliner seats to fully…
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Etihad Airways used the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai to reveal the details behind its new 787 fleet which will supplement the existing long-haul fleet later this year. Instead of opting to continue the heavily customised Business Class seats that the airline currently operates across its 787’s and returning A380’s, Etihad opted for customised off-the-shelf…
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Last week saw ITA Airways inaugurate its brand new Hangar Lounge. The lounge has been designed to put Italy front and centre, acting as an ‘ambassador of Italian excellence in the world’ working with some of Italy’s most iconic brands. Entirely ‘Made in Italy’, the Hangar has been designed by the branding agency Robilant Associati…
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might not know that New York’s ‘hometown airline’ JetBlue has been operating across the Atlantic for almost two years, offering a value proposition to the full-service concept on the highly competitive route between JFK and London. Although it’s taken us a few months to sort a trip,…
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On the coattails of the latest interior refresh for the European carrier, SWISS has just reopened its Non-Schengen Lounge in Zurich Airport’s Terminal D. Extending over 650 square metres, the fully refurbished lounge offers travellers a comfortable retreat with appealing views of the airport’s apron activity and the Alps beyond. The additional lounge will be…
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After the announcement of Vistara and Air India’s merging, it seems the carrier has already started to step up its passenger experience offering. Partnering with the international travel and lifestyle brand TUMI, Air India seems to be putting the right foot forward in upgrading what has been a very tired, and unloved product for some…
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TheDesignAir was lucky enough to be invited to trial Condor’s brand new A330-900Neo ‘2-litre’ aircraft just a few months after it launched the shiny new plane to the world. Jumping at the chance, we wanted to explore in-depth the reasons why the airline won both best new livery and most improved airline brand 2022 last…
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It may not be first to the punch, but following on Lufthansa’s coattails, Swiss has revealed its own personalised ‘SWISS Senses’ air travel experience from 2025 onwards utilising exactly the same hardware as sister carrier Lufthansa. The centrepiece of the new customer product is a redesigned cabin for the airline’s long-haul aircraft fleet, which was…
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Lufthansa peeled back the curtain today on its new Allegris product, with a wide range of products now on offer across its future wide-bodied fleet. We’ve already covered most of this story here including the myriad of Business Class seating options that Allegris will be offering. However, perhaps the scene stealer today is Lufthansa’s First…
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Qantas has finally unveiled prototypes of the First and Business cabins on the aircraftthat will fly passengers non-stop from Australia to New York and London from late 2025 along with a detailed virtual reality fly-through render of the aircraft cabins. This comes shortly after news of a new First Class lounge that will open in…
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This is the TheDesignAir’s hottest Design Airlines to try in 2023. Whether you fly regularly or are saving up for that once in a lifetime trip, here’s our recommendation for airlines, big and small, that bring a bit of style to the skies, but which have you flown and which are you wanting to try?…
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Kuwait Airways has recently announced a wave of enhancements across its passenger fleet on the A330-900neos as well as new uniforms, new routes and improvements to its lounge offering in Kuwait. While many of the improvements will only been see by a few travelling on the airline in the near future, one element will be…
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Air China has just revealed images of its new A350 interiors, which feature the Recaro CL6720 seat in Business Class, something we reported back in 2021. These new seats replace the existing Super Diamond seats found on the rest of the A350 fleet, with a more condensed seating LOPA, yet the additional benefit of privacy…
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As the first in a series of United Club locations to open in 2023, United has officially opened its new United Club lounge in Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 1, close to gate C10. Not to be confused with United’s Polaris lounges, the Club lounge is home to a range of new additions designed to elevate the…
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British Airways announced that its 787-8 Dreamliners are the latest in the line to get some much needed love in regards to their business class product. While the majority of the fleet has already been updated, there’s still a few aircraft left with the original Yin-yang suites from the 2000’s, including the 787-8’s, 787-9’s and…
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Plaza Premium might be new to the US, but that doesn’t mean it is coming to the market tentatively. The group’s brand new Plaza Premium Lounge at Orlando International Airport (MCO) is a flagship product in virtually every regard, from space, design through to the range of facilities on offer. The state-of-the-art Plaza Premium Lounge,…
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China Airlines has now released a new menu and tableware to compliment its Japan routes. The airline will partner with Toutouan, a famous restaurant in Tokyo, to launch their “natural style” Japanese cuisine for Premium Business/Business Class on all Japanese routes. Brand new Japanese tableware will also complement the cuisine. “By bringing Japan’s signature banquet…
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Yesterday saw the very first of no less than 120 retrofitted aircraft take off from Dubai to London Heathrow. As part of a US$2billion upgrade program, EK003 heralds the start of a huge investment from Emirates to bring all of their A380s back to the skies, and – eventually – featuring the latest cabin products…
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Iberia is the first airline to take delivery of the new A350 cabins that feature ever-so-slightly wider cabins and new technologies that make the aircraft lighter and more advanced (such as greater flap settings and faster retracting landing gear), even though they look identical on the outside. However, on the inside, Iberia has opted to…
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Last week saw Air France unveil its fully redesigned lounge in Terminal 1 at Munich-Franz Josef Strauss international airport in Germany. While other airlines have been closing their ground products across the globe, Air France is one of the few carriers bucking the trend with upgraded and refreshed spaces. Dedicated to Air France, KLM and…
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It’s with great pleasure TheDesignAir’s 10th annual award winners have been announced today, celebrating the very best in aviation design, brand and passenger experience from across the globe. We’re thrilled to see airlines once again investing in passenger experience and brand, and there have been many excellent entrants and shortlisted entries this year. We’re thrilled…
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Award-winning Taiwanese carrier Starlux has just received its first of over a dozen new A350s, destined to start flying long-haul routes next year. As well as being the first carrier to have Airbus’ latest version of the XWB, which features an additional 4″ of internal width at the shoulder level and electronically tinted windows. While…
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I’ve been saying for a while that Etihad has been repositioning itself as the leader of boutique carriers. In fact, an impromptu conversation in my hotel bar last night with two Emirati ladies reaffirmed this belief, who excitingly dubbed the carrier as more ‘exclusive and chic’ than its larger, brasher, blingier, counterparts. It seems today…
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While Lufthansa had to quietly retreat from it’s questionable 5-star Skytrax rating just a few weeks ago, to a more understandable 4-star rating, it’s no surprise that the carrier is trying to pull out all the stops to re-energise interest in the carrier which has been marred recently by news of impending strikes. Yesterday Lufthansa…
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Let’s face it, airline cabins are becoming more and more familiar, the day of being surprised when walking onboard is almost over. The era of innovation that saw all-aisle access, private suites, and fully flat beds in business class – which first blossomed some twenty years ago – has seemingly settled into a plateau that…
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After recently travelling on both Virgin Atlantic’s B787-9 and the A350 products to the US, I had the opportunity to experience both the brand-new and older Upper Class products in quick succession, and the differences were noticeable, but actually not in a way I had expected. Now this might seem a little controversial, but.. Out…
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Yesterday saw American Airlines announce a relatively needed and long-awaited refresh to its interiors programme. Bringing its long-haul and premium narrow-body cabins a whole new look was expected, and after United and Delta had rolled out its own signature Polaris and One products, American needed to step up to the mark. While the new cabins…
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Now we aren’t saying AA’s existing lounges weren’t terrible, but apart from a handful, they weren’t much to write home about either. However the good news is that American Airlines has decided to up the ante with a redesign of its Admirals Club lounges across the United States. Customers will first experience the new look…
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Launched today in London’s still-trendy Shoreditch, Virgin Atlantic’s new A330neo product should indeed turn heads. Launching a brand new product across a small yet nimble fleet usually means that the product offering becomes increasingly fragmented, but actually the airline has stumbled upon better synergies than ever on its Transatlantic offering. Introduced on Virgin Atlantic’s 16…
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