British Airways, whose travel spas are run by well known brand Elemis, are undergoing a refurb and will have a new look, just in time for Christmas. The refurbished Terminal 5 spa will now offer state-of-the-art massage chairs, which will offer additional massage therapy, whilst the real therapists can focus on the passengers hands, feet…
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JetBlue have announced the new price point for flying with the only private ‘suite’ between West-East Coast flights; Los Angeles and New York and San Francisco and New York. Starting at a mind bending $499 one way they have managed to surpass our expectations yet again with the costs being yet another reason to fly…
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As it’s 4th of July, we thought we would bring you a little bit of Americana to the site today. We have highlighted 4 excellent reasons to book a ticket to the US right now. 1. British Airways & Los Angeles Why British Airways? British Airways accepted it’s first A380 today, with much media hype…
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We are pleased to announce our Top 10 economy classes for 2013. We have scoured the world for airlines that have really shown us something truly special. Whilst many airlines didn’t make the list, we’d like to state that generally over the past 12 months, we have seen airlines around the world innovate and renovate…
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JFK is one of the busiest and most congested airports in the world. Here at DesignAir the airport experience at JFK was one we used to dread, fearing outdated over populated terminals with confusing signage and generic uninspiring shops. But now, that’s all changed thanks to Delta’s newly re-opened Terminal 4, which all Delta and…
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thedesignair.net interview with Simon Lloyd Marketing Director, Virgin Atlantic I was lucky enough to grab some time between meetings with a very busy Simon Lloyd, Marketing Director for Virgin Atlantic on the VS045 headed to New York. After sipping on some champagne and savouring a brilliant burger in the ever award winning Clubhouse in Terminal…
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As JAL announced today that they were launching the JAL 777 ‘Sky Suite’ interior on their New York route as of May this year, we thought we would take a look at the new product that has already been rolled out on the London route as of January 2013. JAL has always been a solid…
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Working on the Inflight Boutique for KLM for a couple of years, I personally know the hard work and effort that goes into the layout and photography of an inflight catalogue. It seems though, that KLM have lifted the bar on what we have come to expect from the world of duty free. Launched on…
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Virgin Atlantic have now finished their £100million upgrade of their Upper Class Experience, with the launch of their final renovation of the clubhouses, the Newark Lounge. Pieced together by the same creatives, Slade Architecture, that made the JFK Clubhouse, which ranked Number 2 in our Top 10 Lounges 2012, this clubhouse is leaps and bounds…
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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…
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Next year will see the demise of the almost 19 hour flight that connects Singapore to Newark, New York as flown by Singapore Airlines A340-500 series aircraft. It’s not that the route isn’t doing well, it’s because Singapore are trading in their ageing models to be used against the purchase of 5 new A380’s and…
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Now, if you have travelled on Brussels Airlines in business class recently, or one of Delta’s, or even Swiss for that matter, this wouldn’t come as news to you. As this seat is very similar to those offered by these other carriers. This new seating arrangement offered by Austrian Airlines, whilst saving space, gives everyone…
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Today, 09 September 2012, marks the news of one of the industry’s most influential CEOs stepping down from his position as CEO of Virgin Atlantic. Steve Ridgeway started his career with Virgin Atlantic in 1989 when he was appointed Managing Director of the industry’s first automated frequent flyer programme, Virgin Freeway. In 1994, he was…
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Raising the question ‘Will we ever learn?’ Hong Kong Airlines seems to have dropped it’s premium flights between Hong Kong and London Gatwick, only months after starting them. Add this to the recent news that the all-business class Singapore Airlines flights between Singapore and JFK now offer economy seating in them to bolster yields as…
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So if you haven’t heard about the fairly radical new uniform for Virgin America, being launched across their fleet 8th August this year, here’s a cool behind the scenes look at their new uniform, designed by San Fran neighbours Banana Republic. It’s great to see the attention of detail that goes into the design of…
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Swoon. It’s no real surprise that Virgin America kept it’s probably now rather weighty crown of Best Domestic Airline in the US this year, it’s 5th year in a row. For those of thinking ‘Fix! Fix!’ It’s hard to say it is, as this award is voted by readers of Travel and Leisure magazine, rather…
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“Hello Mum? Yes, it’s me. I’m on the plane. I’ll be 30 minutes early.” Yes. It’s official, Virgin Atlantic have decided that mobile phone calls are a good idea in the plane, making themselves a British leader once again in aviation. Whilst this is a relatively new trend to travellers it will be interesting to…
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Hawaiian Airlines released news of their 4th Japanese route, to Sapporo, this month (subject to approval) and this makes the airlines latest addition to their large Asia network expansion since the launches of Tokyo in November 2010, Seoul in January 2011, and Osaka in July 2011 and recently Fukuoka in April 2012. Hawaiian now have 6 sparkly new Airbus A330’s in their fleet now,…
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May 12th 1982, the worlds most colourful airline ‘Braniff International Airways’ ceased operations. 30 years ago, the skies were definately a more colourful place. Long gone the days of the humdrum, Braniff took the aviation experience to a whole new level, with space helmets for cabin crew, bold planes, partnerships with artisans, innovative ideas for…
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Virgin Atlantic released today they are putting VS026/027 into service operating the ever popular NY-LON route from LHR to JFK. Commencing on 28th October, the fourth daily service between JFK and LHR offers the perfect excuse to try the new super cool JFK Clubhouse whilst either popping into Manhattan or gracing Bond Street in London for…
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Eva Air have recently launched their newest business class seat, looking very much like the new Weber‘s ‘Cirrus’ reverse herringbone seat, as launched on Qatar and Lufthansa amongst others. Titled ‘Royal Laurel Class‘ this seat will be offered on their Taipei-New York service and will be on board in June 2nd 2012 in a cabin with…
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Virgin Atlantic doesn’t seem to disappoint with its new onboard Upper Class offering. Now available for view on their website, the brand new product is similar to that of the previous product, but it seems slicker, more streamlined, a lot more contemporary, and comfortable. The famour purple leather seat is gone, replaced with a slick…
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