Qantas upgrades Sydney Business Class lounges

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…

Read More

British Airways’ lounge renaissance: Style, Substance and a hint of Contradiction?

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.

Read More

Cathay brings its signature design to Beijing

Cathay Pacific’s newly reopened lounge at Beijing Capital International Airport exemplifies the airline’s signature residential aesthetic. Designed by Studioilse, it features intimate spaces, a Noodle Bar offering regional dishes, and a tranquil Teahouse. With thoughtful details and a strong cultural connection, the lounge enhances the travel experience while reinforcing the brand’s identity.

Read More

It’s all about perspective: Five Things Qatar Airways Can Learn from the Industry – and Five Things the Industry Can Learn from Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is highly regarded for luxury and premium service, yet it faces challenges amid evolving industry standards. While excelling in amenities and personalized service, the airline could enhance its culinary offerings, uniform presentation, entertainment systems, cabin consistency, and cultural identity. Conversely, other airlines might learn from Qatar’s seamless integration, brand cohesion, and customizable dining experiences.

Read More

Qantas opens new domestic lounge in Adelaide

Adelaide is highlighted as Qantas launches a new international route to Auckland and opens a Domestic Business Lounge. The lounge, designed with regional inspiration, focuses on local culture and cuisine, featuring a cooking station and bespoke furnishings. This initiative enhances travel options for South Australians and reflects Qantas’s commitment to customer experience.

Read More

Trip Report: Iberia A321XLR Business Class, March 2025

As the long-haul narrowbody era gains momentum, Iberia has joined the likes of JetBlue, Aer Lingus and TAP Air Portugal by launching transatlantic routes with its brand-new A321XLR. the aircraft offers a different seat to its two other staggered forward-facing widebodied business class products. So the airline has a challenge on its hands to deliver…

Read More

Cathay starts Hong Kong lounge renewal with reopening of The Bridge

Cathay Pacific has renovated The Bridge lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, introducing new features while retaining familiar elements. The redesign emphasizes a human-centric approach, enhancing comfort and atmosphere. The lounge includes a revamped Noodle Bar, The Nook for regional dishes, and a Food Hall with diverse menu options, all aimed at enriching passenger experiences.

Read More

Malaysia Airlines adds lie-flat seats to upcoming 737-10 MAX aircraft

Malaysia Airlines has unveiled new interiors for its upcoming 737-10 MAX fleet, featuring 12 lie-flat Business Class seats, replacing traditional recliners. With 12 aircraft on order, the airline aims to compete with regional rivals and enhance traveler experience. Their goal is to rank among the world’s top airlines by 2030.

Read More

Trip Report: Cathay 777-300ER ‘Aria Suite’ Business Class, February 2025

Cathay Pacific’s award-winning Aria Suite enhances the Business Class experience, combining innovative design and luxurious comfort. Features like customizable lighting, intuitive entertainment, and exquisite dining elevate the journey. The cabin’s aesthetics reflect a relaxing ambiance, showcasing Cathay’s commitment to passenger wellbeing, setting a new standard in premium travel.

Read More

Hawaiian Airlines finally shows grassroots of new lounge concept, stepping up the ground experience another notch

Hawaiian Airlines has always offered a sub-standard lounge experience in comparison to its in-flight product. The lounges are often crowded and offer a limited range of coffee, snacks and POG juice, but little else. So the recent merger with Alaska Airlines has shifted Hawaiian’s ground experience up a gear as it looks to create synergies…

Read More

Oneworld opens new lounge in Amsterdam… It’s time to play

Tomorrow marks the launch of oneworld’s second branded lounge, and the first in Europe, following quickly after the premier lounge launch in Seoul. The lounge is situated in the footprint of the older British Airways lounge, situated next to a brand new Aspire lounge which will open shortly too. In an emerging trend of managed…

Read More

Does Qantas’ latest safety video spell the end of the tourism-based trend?

Last week Qantas launched its latest safety video, replacing the much loved centenary version. Following the virtually commonplace ‘tourism’ based approach to safety videos, the Qantas one doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before. But the full length version at close to 10 minutes doesn’t do much to win over the hearts and minds…

Read More

Trip Report: Iberia A350 ‘Next’ Business Class, October 2023

Iberia has been rolling out its new ‘Next’ cabin across the A350 fleet. The new cabins mean upgrades across all classes, with the most noticeable improvements being in the Business Class cabin. The cabin now features new Recaro seats with doors which offer greater privacy, but do the new cabins elevate the entire passenger experience?…

Read More

JAL 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 More

Iberia seeks to up the ante with new A350 interiors

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…

Read More

American Airlines redesigns Admirals Clubs starting with Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan DCA airport

Now we aren’t saying AA’s existing lounges weren’t terrible, but apart from a handful, they weren’t much to write home about either. However the good news is that American Airlines has decided to up the ante with a redesign of its Admirals Club lounges across the United States. Customers will first experience the new look…

Read More

Malaysia Airlines New 737NG interiors designed to challenge Air Asia in home markets

The news of a new narrow-body interior for a flag-carrier in South East Asia usually would usually find other carriers across the world become a little more nervous, as expectations of a premium passenger experience adds pressure to enhance their own offerings. We’ve seen in the past few years new flatbeds in Singapore Airlines narrowbodies,…

Read More

British Airways and American Airlines reveal new JFK Terminal 8 offering

American Airlines and British Airways have now announced greater detail surrounding their plans to co-locate operations at JFK’s Terminal 8 from December this year. Together the two airlines co-location should offer a more seamless customer experience while also supporting the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s ambitious plan to transform JFK into a leading…

Read More

Qatar Airways reveals new 787-9 Business Class Suite, and as expected, it’s the new Ascent seat

Tomorrow, Qatar Airways will see the first flight by its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner passenger aircraft, featuring its much anticipated new Adient Aerospace ‘Ascent’ Business Class Suite. The aircraft will operate on a number of key routes to Europe and Asia, starting with its Doha to Milan service followed by Doha to Athens, Barcelona, Dammam,…

Read More

Qatar Airways is latest carrier to bring an exclusive scent to the skies

Qatar Airways has always ensured its soft product is one of the best in the skies, so there’s no surprise it’s now partnered with French maison parfumerie Diptyque as part of the airline’s offering for First Class and Business Class passengers – both on board and in its premium lounges around the world. The airline…

Read More

British Airways adds doors to First, but is it enough?

British Airways’ recent upgrade to its Club World with the new Club World Suite has given the carrier a bit of a conundrum. As the airline has started the retrofit of its fleet with the new Business Class product, it’s left the First Class cabin, even the latest incarnation offering very little difference on paper.…

Read More

Qatar Airways updates its Covid19 onboard product with more… measured measures

Qatar Airways has adapted its health and safety measures onboard by introducing new personal protective equipment for both customers and cabin crew, which increase the protection for passengers and bring the crew protection in line with (if not more than) other global airlines. The airline’s latest measures include offering face shields (rather than masks) and…

Read More

British Airways goes on the charm offensive with extended Executive Club memberships and enhanced temporary catering

British Airways is having a tough time at the moment, like many airlines around the world, however the narrative of late has been surrounding job cuts, legal cases and because it has lagged behind other carriers in some of its communications, some rather frustrated customers who feel the airline has been utilising the pandemic as…

Read More

Qatar Airways opens new lounge in Singapore Changi Airport

Qatar Airways officially opened its new Premium Lounge at Singapore Changi Airport at Terminal 1, and wanted to show it some love, opening it on Valentines Day, this month.According to the airline, the new Singapore lounge “serves as the benchmark and blueprint for Qatar Airways’ future Premium Lounges worldwide,” however it features many of the…

Read More

Cathay has a fairly unique challenge, and is acting pro-actively, but it is it making the right choices to maintain its brand values?

Unlike other media-outlets focussing on the airline industry we make a point to never really comment on short-lived, political or click-bait style news. We focus our approach on the long-lasting customer experience advancements, but Hong Kong has created a unique global environment over the past couple of years, built on political unrest and now the…

Read More

British Airways announces new Heathrow lounges and global concierge team

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.…

Read More

Finnair opens its remaining flagship non-Schengen lounge

June might have seen the opening of the Platinum Wing, but Finnair (just in time for Christmas) has unveiled the final phase of its non-Schengen lounge expansion with the opening of its new, larger, Business Class Lounge. The lounge – just like the Platinum Win – showcases contemporary Nordic design throughout and set on a range…

Read More

British Airways opens new lounge in Geneva

British Airways has just unveiled the latest in its lounge developments, re-opening the newly refurbished lounge in Geneva as part of its huge ongoing investment in the customer experience which includes other new lounges in Rome, San Francisco, Johannesburg and New York’s JFK. The lounge follows a new design concept for the airline, which debuted…

Read More

David Caon does it again, this time with Qantas’ Singapore First Class lounge

On the 2nd December, just over 2 weeks away, we will see the grand opening of the new Qantas first class lounge in Singapore’s Changi International Airport. The lounge follows a wave of ground and inflight product improvements that are helping positioning the carrier as a true luxury, design-led proposition. In the meantime, select passengers…

Read More

UK luxury brand Bamford brings a sense of harmony to Cathay’s First and Business Class cabins

Cathay Pacific might be impacted by the recent unrest on their doorstep, but that isn’t stopping them enticing their premium passengers with an elevated travel experience. The airline has focussed their attention to enhancing the service, soft products and culinary offerings both in its First and Business Class cabins. These enrichments are designed to “offer…

Read More