Virgin Atlantic has unveiled brand new interiors for its fleet of A330- 200 aircraft. These ex-Air Berlin planes will be retrofitted throughout with the airline’s famous Premium Economy cabin, along with a refreshed new look and feel for Upper Class and updated look for Economy. While all eyes will be firmly rooted in Virgin Atlantic’s…
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Primera Air received their first of eight Airbus A3321neo’s featuring Acro Aircraft Seating Series 7 Premium Economy Class seats. Primera Air, a low cost alternative across the Atlantic is the launch customer for the Series 7. The first four rows will be installed with seat pairs in a 2 x 2 configuration and the remaining…
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ANA announced the features of Japan’s first Airbus A380, launching in spring 2019. This aircraft will be introduced on ANA’s Tokyo – Honolulu service, and each cabin is specially designed to meet the passenger’s needs on this very bespoke route. Honolulu is loved by many Japanese families, couples, newlyweds, and Hawaii is a popular destination for…
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With the recent launch of Air Belgium, legacy carrier Brussels Airlines has had to make sure it keeps its product offering competitive. Not surprisingly, they turned to JPA Design, a London-headquartered company that has brought the likes of premium carriers Singapore Airlines and Finnair to life, as well as other mid-level carriers such as Hawaiian…
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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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LATAM Airlines unveiled a fantastic and innovative new dining concept for the Economy cabin of its long-haul international flights (longer than seven hours), which is now available onboard flights to/from Chile and will be introduced throughout the airline group’s international network before the end of 2017. LATAM has defied convention and replaced the traditional tray…
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Last week saw the arrival of Delta’s brand new A350 featuring the airline’s brand new Delta One suites. Delta is the North American launch customer for the A350, which sets to change the image of the carrier with a new ‘Suite-based’ Business class and Delta Premium Select cabin. Even the Main Cabin will receive an enhanced look…
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Launched this week, El Al have brought a rather beautiful new food design to its inflight product, timed to coincide with the launch of the airline’s new 787-9. Until today, El Al’s inflight food offering was wrapped in rather utilitarian packaging. The Israeli airline saw the opportunity to refresh the inflight product to match the new…
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Last week saw not only the arrival of Hong Kong Airlines brand new lounge, but also their very first of 21 A350 aircraft. The airline is embracing the aircraft to support its international development, cherry-picking long-haul destinations that strategically support its future growth. The airline is putting emphasis on developing routes to North America and…
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We caught up with Daniel Baron, founder of LIFT Strategic Design, the design studio behind the latest Philippine Airlines A330-300 cabin. It’s safe to say LIFT has had a long standing relationship with PAL over the years, “we have worked with PAL on thirteen different seat programs over the past decade, starting with their…
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PAL’s drive to become a five-star airline by 2020 has taken a leap in the right direction. Their first aircraft to offer a true full lie-flat seat in business class has rolled out of the hangar. The A330-300, which will start flying to Honolulu this month will be offering passengers a vastly improved experience. As…
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While Business Class and First Class seats can flaunt a wealth of bolt-ons and differences from their competitors – from sliding doors to fully flat beds – the sheer scale and economics of the economy cabins means that the product cannot really change very far from the product set we’ve seen in the skies for…
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El Al may not strike most as a ‘design-led’ airline, partly the reason we’ve barely covered the carrier on this site. However, the carrier is slowly starting to invest in contemporary design touches that are piece by piece, changing the image of the carrier. Headed up by Idan Noyberg, the founder of lyly.design, the airline has…
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Air France saw the launch of its first 787-9 commercial flight between Paris CDG and London Heathrow today. TheDesignAir was invited to greet the aircraft in London this morning. We were also allowed to take a look around the new aircraft type for the carrier, that will eventually start to form its long haul product.…
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Emirates isn’t new to up-cycling, but this year, it has focussed its environmental efforts on part of its inflight experience. What is often seen as a small static-inducing luxury in economy (and often kept as a souvenir) could be one of the least environmentally-friendly passenger experience products. However, the Dubai based carrier has started a rather…
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The rise of the low cost brand a decade ago challenged the legacy carriers to reconsider their business model. Passengers were able to pick between the privileges of a packet of nuts, or a bare bones charge-through-the-teeth model where even you seat choice was a privilege. However, through the natural evolution of business, the…
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Yesterday saw the arrival of Cathay Pacific‘s first A350 in Hong Kong. When we saw a glimpse of the aircraft from the airport terminal, the new A350 shape was instantly recognisable, and to us signalled a new era for the carrier. Cathay have been working hard in the past two years, aligning two brands, opening…
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Miami International Airport is getting three new services from Europe today. October 25th 2015 sees British Airways upgraded A380 service arrive at the airport, Virgin Atlantic‘s second daily Miami service, and a brand new connection from Turkish Airlines. The new services mark an expansion to Europe with a large expansion of seats to pick from. British Airways…
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Alitalia today announced further improvements to their new international product, as well as improvements to their short-haul products and a variety of other touch points. As part of their turn around plan to turn to profit in 2017, the carrier also announced two new long haul destinations for 2016, including Santiago, Chile and Mexico City.…
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Domestic travel in the US is really heating up now, with a new wave of interiors just launched by United. Starting with the A319 next week, the new interior will be rolled out on A319s, A320s, 737s and 757s throughout 2016. The new interiors are custom created for the airline as it pushes hard to…
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We were delighted to be invited to Vietnam Airlines inaugural Dreamliner launch from London Heathrow today. It gave us the opportunity to see the carrier’s new 787-9 up close and personal on stand at Terminal 4 before its flight back to Vietnam. On the outside, Vietnam Airlines’ 787 has a fantastic colour to it, and…
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KLM has just released a few choice images of their new 787-9 product due to arrive in October and has decided upon a brand new full-flat World Business Class product for its Boeing 787-9s. Unlike the carrier’s forward facing seats found in their 747’s and 777’s, the 787-9 has taken the familiar Zodiac seat for its business…
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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’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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Sorry? What was that? Yes we wouldn’t blame you for looking twice at the image above. Alitalia really has launched a new livery, and whilst the awaiting press may have been a little disappointed to not see something perhaps as young, bold and dynamic as Etihad’s recent (award-winning) livery, we are delighted with the result.…
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The first SAS aircraft “Erik Viking” with their new long haul cabin took off today. Lucky passengers on flight SK909 from Copenhagen bound for Newark are currently experiencing a new design, new seats, new infotainment system and onboard WiFi. We announced the development back in May last year, with artists impressions, however due to their recent launch…
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Back in mid January, American received it’s first Dreamliner, one of the main reasons the airline had to revisit its livery, due to the composite nature of the airframe. The new livery is supported by a new interior inside the 787 that matches the similar product being retrofitted onto some of its 777-200 fleet. Installed…
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Vietnam Airlines has revealed (on the same day) both it’s 787 and A350 interiors which will be entering service later this year. The airline has opted for two different business classes between the two airframes, yet both offer substantial improvements on the current product, leapfrogging the carrier ahead to become a real competitor in the…
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KLM in the light of the recent departure of their last MD-11, have announced a further modernisation of their fleet. The new 777-200 economy cabin has been revealed, as designed by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, who also designed their new World Business Class cabin. Whilst the airline still offers only a two class cabin across…
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In the past few days, Qantas have announced a wave of improvements both in the front and the back of the aircraft for their passengers comfort. The introduction of refreshed Kate Spade and Jack Spade amenity kits, improved IFE and the upgrade of the economy meals makes for a welcome home in the sky. Qantas have been…
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