It might have been a long time coming, infact, we’ve known about this rebrand for a while, but Eurowings Discover has finally broken free of its Eurowings shackles to become an airline in it’s own right. And yes, yet another airline in Lufthansa’s grand arsenal of airline brands. Pitched clearly as a competitor to rival…
Read MoreTrip Report: Condor A330-900Neo Business Class ‘Prime Seats’, March 2023
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…
Read MoreLufthansa’s new Allegris product provides a wealth of seating options, but does it deliver a myriad of complications for passenger assignments?
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…
Read MoreFrom 4-star to all star? Lufthansa introduces ‘Allegris’ to try to elevate future passenger experience
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…
Read MoreThe new Premium Economy by SWISS is proof that good things come to those that wait…
Today we were invited to see the grand official reveal of SWISS’ latest product in an arsenal of improvements over the past few years. While the airline started with a range of improvements to its ground product and older A340 fleet a few years ago, the airline’s new Premium Economy has been a few years…
Read MoreLufthansa launches same Premium Economy product as Swiss, creating cross-group synergies
Lufthansa has already got a competitive Premium Economy seat, however the carrier saw it time to upgrade some of its fleet. While the ZIMmagic Premium Economy product from seat manufacturer ZIM already features on much of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet, the carrier has looked to both improve its product, and match the new Swiss Premium…
Read MoreSWISS introduces new Premium Economy, officially launching April 2022
SWISS has now joined the ranks of its fellow Lufthansa Group airlines in offering Premium Economy, which will supplement its existing Economy, Business and First classes of travel from the fourth quarter of this year. Interestingly the airline has opted for a fixed-backshell seat which usually gets a bad rap for passenger comfort although it…
Read MoreLufthansa trials economy ‘Sleeper’s Row’ concept on Sao Paulo routes
Lufthansa is utilising this time to trial new economy concept products. While it recently announced that in economy passengers on short-haul flights will now have to pay for dining and drink options, on the long-haul network the carrier is currently testing a new Economy Class seating concept called “Sleeper’s Row”. This product follows the likes…
Read MoreLothansa? The challenge of having similar tail fins
It seems the week before Christmas brought a challenge from LOT Polish Airlines to Lufthansa regarding the German flag carrier’s somewhat contentious new livery. The Polish carrier draws issue with the fact Lufthansa’s reimagined tail fin has an uncanny resemblance to theirs. While we agree there are similarities, to our our trained eye, they are…
Read MoreAustrian launches interactive seat map booking function
Austrian Airlines has just launched an innovative 3D Seatmap as part of the booking process. While the technology is nothing new, the ability to use the platform as part of the booking and seat selection process, is. From now on, Austrian Airlines passengers on flights operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft can virtually discover their favorite…
Read MoreCan Star Ratings Of Airlines Be Trusted?
In a world where everyone can now easily become a critic, navigating our way through the vast swathes of reviews can be daunting. After all, human nature dictates we will only ever comment on something exceptional. This is why ‘average’ reviews are rarely seen, with either excellent or scathing comments usually posted. Airlines are subject…
Read More2019, The Game Of Thrones
While most people will be getting excited about the final instalment of the globally successful HBO franchise, 2019 will also see a range of new business class seats across the globe that will see the business class experience becoming more and more competitive with regards to the hard product on offer. With seat designers and…
Read MoreSwiss Opens Stylish New Zurich Business And Senator Lounges
Swiss has just opened its redesigned Lounge Centre A at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The new lounge complex, which is mainly aimed at short-haul travellers, includes a Business and a Senator Lounge. These follow the design of the First Class lounge which recently opened. Made up of series of zones with a range of privacy…
Read MoreThe Great Rome Revival. Star Alliance Latest Lounge To Open In Rome’s Fiumicino Airport
Rome has recently seen a wave of new and renovated lounges, including British Airways new lounge, Alitalia’s renovated lounge and now situated on the upper level of Boarding Zone D in Terminal 3, Star Alliance’s superbly designed space for their premium passengers . Designed by the Barcelona based team, Up to You Studio, the new Star Alliance…
Read MoreLufthansa Creates New Lounge Concept, Starting With Milan Malpensa Lounge
Lufthansa have just opened their latest lounge, this one in Milan Malpensa. Serving their 7+ flights per day to Frankfurt and Munich, the lounge is certainly large enough at 550 square metres and featuring 117 seats. The new design concept certainly embraces a ‘cosy atmosphere’ as it states in its press release, with warmer tones…
Read MoreLufthansa’s New Blue Livery Sadly Misses The Mark
Today saw Lufthansa launch its new livery in an event in Cape Town. While many will probably like this new clean, monochromatic paint scheme, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed to see such an iconic livery be literally whitewashed. Sure, almost all liveries grow on us with time, but that doesn’t stop us…
Read MoreLufthansa Shows Off New 777-9 Business Class, To Launch In 2020
2020 will see a new type of business class seat join Lufthansa’s fleet. Last week Lufthansa revealed its brand-new Business Class product that will be available with the roll-out of the Boeing 777-9. The new seat might look familiar, as it shares a lot of similarities with Acumen’s Optima seat design, which can also be found…
Read MoreAustrian Installs Industry Standard Premium Economy ZIM Seats
This week saw the announcement of Austrian Airlines’s new Premium Economy cabin product. Starting right now, passengers can book a seat in the new travel class for flights starting on March 6, 2018. While nothing particularly groundbreaking, the centrepiece of the new Premium Economy Class is the new seat ZIM seat providing passengers with more comfort…
Read MoreTheDesignAir’s Top 10 Premium Economy Classes 2014
Our TheDesignAir Top 10 lists have undergone a revamp in 2014, and to aid transparency, our top 10 airlines will now have their rating out of 100 shown, as voted for and calculated by our judging panel. This month we cover our top 10 premium economy classes. With airlines investing more into their new mid-cabin classes, competition is…
Read MoreNew Amenity Kits From Lufthansa And Austrian
Recently there have been a few new amenity kits surfacing around the world, with Qantas and JAL recently releasing their kits. We take a look at two of the latest. Long gone are the cheap plastic looking bags. Airlines have invested heavily into beautiful keepsakes that will last for years. By partnering with some of the…
Read MoreLufthansa’s New Premium Economy
Lufthansa have been working on a new premium economy product for the past few years and have just announced they are to be introduced into their long haul fleet. Seen globally as a huge success since the invention from Virgin Atlantic, in 1992, many airlines now offer a class between economy and business class, as…
Read MoreTheDesignAir’s Top 10 Airline Lounges 2013
This year there have been many new lounges appearing around the world. Each offering a unique level of luxury and identity that has meant a broad and interesting collection of spaces in a variety of spaces. Excellent spaces that didn’t make the list, but should still be commended, include Virgin America’s ‘The Loft‘ in LAX,…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Top 10 International First Classes Of 2013
With our return to our monthly Top 10’s, this month we celebrate the launch of several new First Class cabins around the world. Have they made our Top 10 though? Interestingly, as our judges went through the offerings, it became apparent that ‘International First Class’ cabins have changed over the past few years, turning from…
Read MoreThedesignair In Print This Month
So Thedesignair has been a little quiet recently, apologies, but safe to say we are back up and running at full steam as before. Here’s a small recap over what’s happened in the last 7 days away from the blog. From reporting on EX-YU Aviation news regarding some Ex-Yugoslavian airline brands, through to writing for UK’s…
Read MoreGermanwings New Look Revealed
It seems that Lufthansa’s pet project ‘Direct 4 U‘ has finally come to fruition, with a launch of the ‘new’ germanwings penned in for July 1st 2013. Germanwings’ old livery, of fake metallic, lurid yellow and deep burgundy is going, and is being replaced with a fairly decent and modern Euro-white livery that seems a lot more…
Read MoreTheDesignAir Top 10 Airport Lounges 2012
This month we feature our Top 10 Lounges 2012. Competition is getting tough, as lounges are constantly improving year on year, but our selections are based on product offering, design aesthetic, unique offerings and synergy with the respective airline’s brand. Let’s commence with Number 10… 10. Emirates First Class Lounge, Dubai (DXB) A wine…
Read MoreLufthansa’s New Project Direct 4 You
Whilst this hasn’t been officially released by Lufthansa, German newspaper Bild has reported through sources close to the airline that they are planning on launching a new low-cost unit (similar to the recent launch of IAG’s Iberia’s new Iberia Express) The new airline has been dubbed ‘Direct 4 You’ and will basically be an amalgamation of Germanwings…
Read MoreIs First Class Dying Off?
On the following day of the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s updated premium product ‘Dream Suite‘ comes news from troubled Lufthansa of a different nature. In an effort to try and become more efficient, curb spending and reign in the purse strings after a less than successful stint of turning bmi around, they are going to…
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