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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Passenger seat rules and regulations regarding ergonomics haven’t really changed in decades. However, as a race, human’s have continued to evolve, and we’re getting larger and taller. This means economy seats and cabins once comfortable for passengers in the 1960’s are no longer viable for today’s traveller. In fact the CDC says between 1960 and…
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Hangar 22 is Air New Zealand‘s moniker for its research lab, which has been working on the future of ultra-long haul cabins for no less than 5 years in a mirror effort to Qantas’s Project Sunrise. There’s good reason for Air New Zealand to invest heavily in a new product, as the airline will start…
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Friday saw the announcement that KLM will finally introduce its own Premium Economy product, bringing the carrier in line with Air France, Delta and Virgin Atlantic, its strategic partners. Dubbed Premium Comfort Class, the product sits above its economy comfort product which is fundamentally an economy seat with a little more legroom, and below the…
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Most people will have flown on a Vantage product at some point if they’ve flown business class in the past decade, and the VantageXL is the flagship version, which has been adopted by the likes of Qantas, SAS, Delta and Philippine Airlines over the years. Understanding that passenger habits and needs have adapted in the…
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As the world of wide-bodied cabin & seat design has reached a critical plateau, all eyes are turning to the new narrow-bodied long-haul market which will become an increasingly important part of point-to-point long-haul strategy in the months and years ahead. While the ‘Jet Set Era’ offered transcontinental flights on narrow-body aircraft decades ago, it…
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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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While we covered JetBlue’s fantastic new Mint product recently, the airline certainly kept our eyes at the front of the aircraft, as we thought that’s where the magic was going to happen. However, it seems when it comes to Economy Class travel, the airline has decided to firmly position itself as a challenger to the…
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Even non-aviation enthusiasts may have noticed that the skies look a little different today. As we head into another year since the pandemic first decimated commercial aviation, the large behemoth A380s and Queens of the skies – the Boeing 747 – are a rare sight at airports nowadays. Replaced by more economic and smaller long-haul…
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The industry has been mooting the possibility of growth in the long-haul single-aisle market across the past couple of years, however 2020’s pandemic has rapidly escalated this conversation. These narrow body ultra-long-haul aircraft are perfectly suited for a subdued travel market across the next few years, with fewer seats and the ability to connect point-to-point…
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While Swiss has announced that in economy passengers will soon have to pay for food and drink onboard short-haul flights, things have taken a radical shift in the opposite gear onboard the carrier’s long-haul premium cabins. Crafted by Michelin-starred chef Alexandra Müller of the Romantik Hôtel L’Etoile in Charmey, Canton Fribourg, these latest culinary creations…
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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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Over the past few years Gulf Air has managed to really shake off its tired products of the past and reposition itself as a boutique carrier that gives the ME3 a run for their money. The 787 product is certainly stunning, and we thought that in many ways, thanks to their smaller more intimate cabins,…
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We’ve covered TAP before on the site a few times, and even though some time has elapsed since they first took delivery of their A330Neo’s, this is the first time we’ve booked a ticket to experience this brand new Recaro hard product. While it isn’t the most spacious seat in the skies, we’re curious to…
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Vistara, India’s latest full-service carrier, unveiled its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (a first for India), which touched down in Delhi on 29 February 2020. While the plane is Vistara’s 40th to join the fleet, as the rest of the fleet are narrow-body aircraft, this arrival also brought with it, the airline’s new cabin products for…
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Air New Zealand has a fairly unique proposition, offering daily ultra long-haul flights across the globe while catering to a home country with just half the population of London. As such, its had to innovate to remain at the top of it’s game, and has already rolled out products like the (short-lived) Premium Economy Spaceseat,…
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Entertaining children on long-haul flights – as any parent would know – is an art form, balancing sugar intake, sleep and restlessness is an all consuming part of the flight. Thankfully Singapore Airlines have taken a creative and beautifully simple approach to entertaining kids on their flights with the adoption of a new Origami amenity…
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The first of Qantas’ upgraded A380s welcomed its first passengers yesterday on the London to Sydney route, delivering a radical new cabin enhancement for Australia’s national carrier’s largest aircraft. The multi-million dollar upgrade of their 12 superjumbo aircraft includes new seating across Business and larger Premium Economy cabins and a refresh of the aircraft’s First…
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Last week Air France took delivery of its first Airbus A350 at the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse France. The first of 28 A350-900s which will arrive by 2025. The new aircraft is equipped with 324 seats, with 34 in a brand-new Business cabin, 24 in a new Premium Economy cabin and 266 in Economy. Air…
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Air Italy has just announced that it will bring a totally new Economy Class meal with brand new packaging and enhanced inflight service for all long-haul Economy Class flights to and from its Milan hub. Starting this September, the new inflight dining experience will feature a fully refreshed set of menus. It also heralds the…
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For anyone that travels in premium cabins a lot, there seem to be a few moving goalposts when it comes to an internationally standardised product. Where some carriers believe business class comes with all bells and whistles, such as chauffeur drive, the same carrier might not believe in pyjamas. While some offer dine on demand,…
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This week saw LATAM unveil the final phases of its upgraded ‘Premium Business’ service by showcasing to press the first Boeing 777 in its fleet to feature the group’s new cabin product. The new business class service and hard product is part of a $500 million investment to improve the passenger experience and includes US$400…
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Today saw the launch of Air France’s new Economy and Premium Economy cabins, creating a ‘new’ travel experience on board its 15 Airbus A330s which will be refitted as from January 2019. We’ve always found Air France to offer a contemporary economy cabin product, however the traditional sea of blue and cream didn’t inject a sense…
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Emirates has introduced new toys from the Emirates ‘Fly with Me’ collection and also Lonely Planet Kids activity kit bags for children travelling in all classes. The new range of toys will come in the top four favourite characters, as voted by customers and fans in a social media competition held last year. The airline…
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Last week saw Iberia receive the latest addition to the fleet, a brand new Airbus A350-900. The aircraft is the first of 16 A350 XWB on order, becoming the 18th airline to operate the aircraft type. The aircraft is configured in a premium three-class layout, with 348 seats, including 31 full lie-flat bed Business, 24 Premium…
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As of July 1st, Air France passengers in their Premium Economy or Business Class cabins will experience brand new amenity kits. These funky and fresh designs will be available for 6 months on all long-haul flights. In premium economy, the kits feature a sporty, young tie string bag, that wouldn’t be amiss on sister airline…
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Most people probably remember when Airbus first launched their A380, there was talk about the cargo area being used as an onboard lounge, retail unit or even a restaurant for passengers. Naturally, like many things in aviation, these ideas gradually disappeared and practicality took over. Gone the ideas of having a large retail unit, when…
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As we write this, the new Qantas QF9 Flight is airborne from Perth inbound to London Heathrow Airport, signalling a new era of direct flights between Australia and the UK, dramatically reducing the time to fly between Australia and London. While passengers connecting on to Sydney may not gain any extra time in flying this…
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American Airlines is the latest airline to introduce branded bedding to the skies of North America. Beginning in December, AA customers seated in long-haul international and transcontinental First or Business class and Premium Economy can enjoy a suite of advanced sleep offerings designed by Casper’s award-winning engineering team. The Casper line of sleep products will…
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Joon has recently pulled back the curtain on its brand image. The ‘younger’ sister carrier to Air France, Joon is actively targeting millennials, a similar concept to competitor IAG’s Level product. The difference between Joon and Level being the key addition of a true international and regional business class product. The airline has gone to…
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