All eyes might have been on DXB the past few weeks as it struggled to deal with epic rains that hit the UAE. To be fair, we don’t think any airport globally could have dealt with such extreme weather conditions, but now all eyes are turning to its sister airport, situated a little closer to…
Read MoreSeven brand-new Business Class seats to fly in 2024
This year turning out to be a pretty exciting year for the passenger experience world. While airlines are recording record profits, they are investing heavily into their new aircraft, looking to try and win over market share. Here’s TheDesignAir’s round up of best business class seats you should fly in 2024. 1. Cathay Pacific 777…
Read MoreTrip Report: China Airlines A350-900 Business Class, March 2024
I was given the opportunity to fly with China Airlines, a few years after I last flew with them, and it was an opportunity to revalidate the reasons why the carrier was awarded Design Airline, Asia 2023 at our awards last year. The airline is often mistaken for a mainland Chinese carrier, which often don’t…
Read MoreCould Caon Design Office and Woolmark have created the future of First Class Suites with Modulo?
Sometimes we see concepts that are so far fetched come across our desks here at TheDesignAir that we know they just simply won’t take flight, but the latest concept that has landed here has certainly piqued our interest. Brought to life by David Caon’s design studio (the very same designer who has his fingerprint all…
Read MoreMalaysia Airlines on the road to excellence with new cabins
In a recent event in Malaysia, the country’s flag-carrier revealed new cabins for the airline’s impending A330neo fleet, with the first of these shiny new aircraft scheduled for delivery in Q3 2024. We are thrilled to see the airline really doubling down on its proposition in a bid to win back market share. The A330neo…
Read MoreCathay reveals more details regarding Aria Suite, hinting now towards Collins Elements product
Today saw Cathay add its new Aria suite product to its website, promoting the new product that will take to the skies later in the year. This is one of the most anticipated seat launches of the year, as Cathay vies for the most lucrative of passengers through the Asia region. While the airline revealed…
Read MoreAir India launches new safety video, doubling down on Indian heritage
Air India has had a challenging launch of a new brand in our eyes. How can an airline both represent and value a nation’s pride while also modernising its image to the international stage. While the airline originally launched a new brand and livery that fell flat, the carrier has slowly been building the much…
Read MoreAir India’s new soft product delights with rich Indian details
Where Air India’s recent rebranding failed to excite with the new master brand, livery and hard product, the recent announcement of enhancements to the soft product launch has filled in gaps to the missed deeper connection to its national heritage. This week has seen the airline reveal new amenity kits, a luxurious and sustainable bedding…
Read MoreFive airline lounge trends we hope to see in 2024
As we emerge into 2024 and airlines continue their post-pandemic growth with record profits seen by many, the race to invest into the passenger experience begins. While cabin programs can take several years to manifest, the quickest and easiest way to win over market share for the lucrative business class segment, is to reimagine the…
Read MoreTrip Report: Austrian Airlines B777-200 Business Class, November 2023
I’ve been wanting to try Austrian Airlines Business Class for some time now. The airline has been on my radar as a lesser-known carrier of the Lufthansa Group, but after hearing such good things about the airline, it was time to take the plunge on a transatlantic flight I had to take from London to…
Read MoreAir India furthers brand evolution with new uniforms
Air India has continued to evolve its new brand proposition which features new cabins and liveries, with a brand new uniform for the crew, which sits in line with the new brand palette. Created by Indian celebrity couturier, Manish Malhotra, the new uniforms set out to blendrich Indian heritage, contemporary style, elegance, and comfort. We…
Read MoreCongratulations to TheDesignAir Award Winners, 2023
Today we are pleased to announce TheDesignAir’s 11th annual award winners, as we celebrate the very best in aviation design, brand, and passenger experience around the world. Every year we see airlines across the globe continue to advance the passenger experience in the air and on the ground. There has been a new wave of…
Read MoreNew bar concept ‘Intervals’ in Hong Kong by Plaza Premium challenges existing lounge offerings
If you’ve travelled through Hong Kong recently, you might have stumbled across a new bar situated atop of the Sky Bridge connecting HKIA’s satellite terminal. Dubbed ‘Intervals’ It’s Plaza Premium Group’s new bar offering, is set to offer “a remarkable culinary journey,” states the press release. “Passengers passing through Hong Kong can now indulge in…
Read MoreSecond time lucky! Riyadh Air listens, and slightly amends second livery to be on point
A few months ago, I covered the new Riyadh Air livery, and how that in principal it’s one of the most elegant new liveries in the skies, but it the logotype on the fuselage was a little too dominant for an elegant, premium carrier. Well, it seems like they’ve listened, as not only their new…
Read MoreHold my beer… Aerolineas Argentinas shows off challenging new uniform that makes even British Airways look good
Aerolíneas Argentinas has just unveiled a brand new uniform for ground and flight service personnel designed by Benito Fernández and Ricky Sarkany. But the end result has been a little bit of a disaster in our view with ill-fitting suits and colours that seem to exude holiday camp hosts, rather than international glamour. Under the…
Read MoreEtihad gives sneak peek of upgraded new lounge offering in Abu Dhabi’s Terminal A
Etihad Airways has just given a sneak peek of its new flagship premium lounges at Abu Dhabi International Airport’s much awaited “Terminal A”. Etihad inaugurated the new terminal on October 31st with a special one off flight before introducing a full transition to the Terminal which should be complete by the 14th November. Etihad’s impressive new…
Read MoreAegean delivers striking new uniform to (finally) match new brand ethos.
Aegean just completed its Neo-era rebranding by presenting the new uniforms, in collaboration with the renowned Greek brand Zeus+Dione. The new uniforms, which were designed by the creative direction of Marios Schwab, are in perfect harmony with Aegean’s “Neo-era vision” and image, incorporating core design touches that seamlessly connect with the larger passenger experience. As…
Read MoreKitting out: a range of new amenity kits take to the skies across the globe
It’s apparently amenity kit season, as a range of airlines including United, Thai Airways, Hawaiian and Brussels Airlines have all released new amenity kits in a bid to enhance the passenger experience. There are two key trends emerging in these kits now, something that we had been hoping airlines would embrace moving forward. One was…
Read MoreJAL launches new A350-1000 cabin interiors, but do they miss the mark?
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…
Read MoreI think we just found out where Lufthansa’s yellow accent went… Introducing Discover Airlines
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 MoreGood things come in small packages. Meet Bermudair
You will be forgiven for not knowing of this new Bermuda-based startup, but it’s certainly going to be getting a lot of attention in the coming months. The airline has been a long time in the making. Bermudair actually comes from Adam Scott—the same CEO who wanted to start Odyssey, the all-business class airline that…
Read MoreJPA’s Airtek seat finds a home in Cathay’s future fleet
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…
Read MoreRiyadh Air launches livery and brand video ahead of AIX
Riyadh Air, the new Saudi Arabian airline, headed up by veteran CEO Tony Douglas has just unveiled the first of two liveries that will adorn the airline’s fleet on Instagram earlier today. The airline has certainly decided to stand out with a bold, metallic purple look that will draw attention as it touches down to…
Read MoreITA Airways adds A330Neo with stunning new interiors
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…
Read MoreITA Airways unveils ‘The Hangar’, its third new lounge in Rome
Last week saw ITA Airways inaugurate its brand new Hangar Lounge. The lounge has been designed to put Italy front and centre, acting as an ‘ambassador of Italian excellence in the world’ working with some of Italy’s most iconic brands. Entirely ‘Made in Italy’, the Hangar has been designed by the branding agency Robilant Associati…
Read MoreFastjet launches new uniforms
Fastjet has just revealed a brand new uniform, representing “a modern and smart look that captures the airline’s brand identity, that will now be worn by its ground staff and aircrew across all its bases in Zimbabwe and South Africa,” states the airline’s press release. The new uniform shakes off the bright yellow threads that…
Read MoreSWISS is latest airline to launch new cabins similar to Lufthansa’s product – but the Swiss touch changes the cabin entirely.
It may not be first to the punch, but following on Lufthansa’s coattails, Swiss has revealed its own personalised ‘SWISS Senses’ air travel experience from 2025 onwards utilising exactly the same hardware as sister carrier Lufthansa. The centrepiece of the new customer product is a redesigned cabin for the airline’s long-haul aircraft fleet, which was…
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 MoreQantas reveals renders of its premium Project Sunrise cabins
Qantas has finally unveiled prototypes of the First and Business cabins on the aircraftthat will fly passengers non-stop from Australia to New York and London from late 2025 along with a detailed virtual reality fly-through render of the aircraft cabins. This comes shortly after news of a new First Class lounge that will open in…
Read MoreHottest Design Airlines to Try in 2023
This is the TheDesignAir’s hottest Design Airlines to try in 2023. Whether you fly regularly or are saving up for that once in a lifetime trip, here’s our recommendation for airlines, big and small, that bring a bit of style to the skies, but which have you flown and which are you wanting to try?…
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