Aeroméxico’s newly renovated Salones Premier at Mexico City International Airport reflect a shift towards a culturally rooted aesthetic, designed by Gensler. These lounges prioritize atmosphere over clichés, featuring art and local inspirations like Xochimilco. While operationally premium, there remains a disconnect between lounge design and onboard experience, signaling potential for future coherence.
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LATAM’s preview of its upcoming Airbus A321XLR interiors hints at a strategic pivot towards a refined premium experience, featuring an all-aisle-access business class and enhanced economy offerings. The design adopts a softer aesthetic, prioritizing atmosphere over bold branding. Success will depend on harmonizing all components to ensure a cohesive passenger experience.
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Edelweiss’ new Airbus A350 interiors offer modern upgrades, including improved Business Class and Premium Economy, but adopt a neutral, muted color scheme that feels generic, losing the brand’s joyful essence. This restrained design mirrors trends within the Lufthansa Group, potentially sacrificing memorable storytelling for corporate cohesion. While the product remains competitive, its emotional connection to holiday experiences is diminished.
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Qantas’ lounge network has long been a quiet expression of the airline’s national character – grounded, sophisticated, and unmistakably Australian. As the Flying Kangaroo prepares for its next great leap, the arrival of Project Sunrise and the opening of its new Auckland International Lounge mark the beginning of a more refined, residential era for its…
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British Airways has unveiled new lounges in Miami and Dubai as part of its £7 billion transformation, marking a shift toward a more modern, expressive travel experience. These lounges blend local influences with British sensibility, offering a comfortable and vibrant atmosphere. However, a disconnect remains between the lounges and the airline’s onboard aesthetic.
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Western Sydney International Airport, Australia’s first major airport in over 50 years, merges contemporary architecture with local culture. Designed collaboratively, it features an expansive terminal showcasing natural materials and a focus on passenger experience. With investments in local businesses and strong environmental commitments, it aims to serve the community while generating jobs.
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Delta Air Lines has launched a new lounge in its Sky Club network at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Spanning over 24,000 square feet, it accommodates over 500 guests with a design reflecting Atlanta’s culture. The lounge prioritizes comfort and functionality, incorporating local art and enhanced facilities, and is part of Delta’s broader investment in the airport’s infrastructure.
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Air France has launched a revamped First Class ‘La Première’ experience, enhancing its premium offerings with larger suites and upgraded seats on its Boeing 777 fleet. The new design features five windows per suite, private amenities, and advanced technology, aiming to compete with top airlines. Despite minor flaws in screen placement, the launch overall appears promising.
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LOT Polish Airlines has launched a new business lounge at Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 5, marking its first investment in North America. Designed for passenger comfort, this stylish space features modern decor, relaxation and work areas, a dining section with Polish cuisine, and advanced technology, including automatic dimming windows and fast Wi-Fi.
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Delta has opened its first SkyClub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, featuring a 14,000-square-foot space that accommodates nearly 250 guests. The lounge incorporates Neoclassic design inspired by Queen Charlotte. Meanwhile, Delta’s new Boston Logan lounge aims to enhance the business class experience with exclusive dining and maritime-themed decor. Both lounges symbolise Delta’s commitment to improving ground experiences.
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Qantas has unveiled a redesigned Business and Economy Class cabin for its A330 fleet, enhancing comfort for the upcoming Project Sunrise experience. The refurbishment includes larger screens, USB-C charging, and mood lighting. This multimillion-dollar program will renew the fleet starting mid-2025, signaling a shift toward a modern, inviting travel experience.
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The never ending game of cat and mouse between the US3 carriers is playing dividends for the inflight and ground customer experience in the USA. A region that was once a decade behind the rest of the world when it came to cabin interiors, has fast become a hot-bed of creativity and world-standard hard products.…
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JAL has set the scene for its new flagship product which will start flying on the prestigious service between Tokyo and New York later this year. It’s been almost 20 years since the carrier last launched a flagship international product, and the new cabins reflect the recent regional cabins that have already started flying over…
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It seems like Cathay has just opened the lid of the business class of its future 777 fleet today with a teaser video, which will replace the existing Super Diamond and Cirrus Business Class seat that is found across the long-haul widebodied fleet of today. Interestingly, there hasn’t been a lot of detail around the…
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We’re currently in an era of rebounded passenger volumes, overwhelming profit margins, and seemingly sustained growth in virtually all aspects of the aviation industry. While much of that profit has been realised by heavily streamlined operations post-COVID, it’s also been due to pared back passenger experiences over the past 12 months, with many airlines only…
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It’s mind-boggling to think that Qantas has been flying its A380s for almost two decades. These behemoth gentle giants almost saw an untimely end because of the turn of the 2020’s but thankfully airlines are bringing these flagship aircraft back on key routes across the globe. Qantas is one such carrier that is not only…
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This week saw not only the partial-acquisition of ITA Airways by Lufthansa Group, but also the first of its 18 A330-900Neo aircraft which will form the backbone of its international fleet. The aircraft is the first to be fully realised with ITA Airways vision for the passenger experience, as the A350’s that are already flying…
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Every time we visit Tokyo we’re struck by how charmingly low-rise it is. By contrast with other Asia capitals, there’s been no crazy arms race to build the tallest tower. But that also means that, where you can get up high, you’re rewarded with unbroken views. That’s certainly the case at Andaz Tokyo, on the…
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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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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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For so many, the writing has been on the wall for First Class. After all, the gulf between First and Business Class was bridged by a wave of suites, fully flat beds and all-aisle access in the larger more affordable J class cabin. This means for many now, the upgrade to First Class simply meant…
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Condor wowed us recently with a bold new brand image. Some of you might have already seen these bold stripey aircraft in the skies, which are certainly standing out on airport aprons. In fact, the intended purpose to generate interest and awareness of the brand is working, with many images popping up on social media,…
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It’s rare to find innovation in Business Class products in the past few years. Since the likes of Singapore Airlines’ new monocoque seats and Qatar Airways QSuites, many carriers are opting to customise off the shelf products, which naturally bring tried-and-tested comfort, but will never advance the passenger experience the same way that a truly…
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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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While details are scarce, it seems that according to one of FlyDubai’s latest posts, the airline is introducing a regional business class product, most likely to replace its older recline seats. While the airline has just hinted at the new product on social media, rather than a full announcement at this stage, it appears to…
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Today saw the opening of the fully redesigned Air France lounge at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. In association with the Plaza Premium Group, the airline now offers its Business and Flying Blue Elite Plus customers a large, elegant and welcoming space, in an iteration of the new ground product design for Air France.…
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Acumen, the London based design studio, has been working with JetBlue for several years, reimagining the passenger experience. Back in 2016 they commenced work on the new A321neo cabin, but they have also worked on the new A321LR project which graced the news this week, thanks to its innovative business class cabin featuring the new…
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Emirates is one of the last bastions of the A380. Thanks to its critical mass of the product, once vaccines take hold and confidence in travel returns, the airline will be well poised to offer luxury travel to the masses once again. The carrier already has an arsenal at its ready to help position itself…
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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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British Airways just celebrated its centenary year and as part of its new year’s resolutions (Happy New Year everyone!) the carrier has hinted at some much needed upgrades to its Heathrow lounge complexes. 2019 saw the carrier bring a host of new lounge designs to its network including San Francisco, Geneva, New York and Milan.…
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