TheDesignAir is pleased to announce the shortlist for the DesignAir Awards 2017 and just like last year, we’ve opened some of the categories to the public, so you can vote for the winners. Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories for Best Design Airline, by region, across the globe. All it takes…
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From everyone at TheDesignAir, we want to wish you a very Happy New Year. As the new year rolls in, we take the time to celebrate 2016. It’s been yet another fantastic year in aviation with numerous new products rolled out and airlines once again investing heavily into brand, product and design. At the start of December, we…
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The long-awaited TheDesignAir 2016 Awards are back. This year, we’ve changed things a little bit, giving our readership the chance to get involved. Not only will TheDesignAir be announcing a few of the awards based on their own opinion, but we’ve opened six categories to the public. Now is your chance to pick from our shortlisted categories including Best…
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In the heart of Honolulu Airport, TheDesignAir talks exclusively with Avi Mannis at Hawaiian Airlines on their home turf, discussing the past, the future, brand and livery, plus what it means to be a truly successful ‘destination carrier’ The Roots of the Hawaiian Airlines Brand Sat in Hawaiian Airlines offices just on the edge of…
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2015 has been an impressive year for the aviation industry, with many carriers pulling up their socks and vying for the all-elusive lucrative passenger. With oil-prices lower than before, airlines are snapping at the opportunity to revisit their products, launch new aircraft and impress their paying consumers. This means one thing, a better experience for…
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It has been a busy year for Business Class, with a staggering array of new products being launched as carriers fight for their most lucrative passenger base. Our list contains some surprises, with familiar names falling off and lesser-known carriers appearing. Generally speaking, the products scored lower this year, possibly because consumers’ expectations are rising. The judges looked, as always, at hard and soft product first— but the very highest…
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This month we are turning our eyes to the outside of the aircraft. Usually bright and colorful, these calling cards fill international airports with a myriad of designs. A livery, if designed correctly, can convey the brand experience that takes place inside. Each year, our judges (including some new faces) sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark and ticking the right…
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We’re pleased to announce that we have brought a brand new podcast to TheDesignAir.net. None other than legendary presenter Ted Kravitz and TheDesignAir.net founder Jonny Clark present The Aviator Podcast, covering everything in the air from departure gate to arrival hall. This month, We ask if Asia’s aviation sector needs to work on its safety culture,…
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London based JPA Design has had a long working history with Singapore Airlines, starting back in 1998 when they first launched the 747 first class suite. Since then the creative studio has tackled a variety of cabin designs for one of the world’s leading airlines, including the 777 and first ever production business class seat for SIA’s A380.…
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Flight: EY12 Aircraft Type: A380 Class: Business “Studios” Route: LHR-AUH Flight time: 6:40 Seat: 12E Date: Februrary 2015 http://www.etihad.com Best for: Savvy one-stop travellers who want one of the very best products in the skies The crowd: Mainly international travellers, less UAE based passengers than its rivals. Business or pleasure: Definitely both, however the creature comforts far outweigh the excellent connectivity found onboard. Routes: Etihad fly to…
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Flight: BA117 Aircraft Type: B747-400 Class: “Club World” Business Class Route: LHR-JFK Date: October 2014 http://www.ba.com Best for: UK based travellers who travel a lot, who can benefit from frequent flier perks. Most likely to sit next to: On this route, expect NY-LON travellers, who take the trip as much as they would a Taxi, nothing phases or surprises these über-travellers. Business…
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Flight: EY18 Aircraft Type: A330-300 Class: Business Class Route: LHR-AUH Date: July 2014 http://www.etihad.com Best for: International business class travellers looking for luxury with one-stop connections Most likely to sit next to: Local Abu Dhabi residents or über-cool marketing and media types. Business or pleasure: This is an airline all about pleasure, whilst the carrier offers wi-fi and large tables to work from and…
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It’s that time again, and the judges have voted for their Top 10 Liveries for 2014. Each year the judges sort through the best of the best to find out what is hitting the mark. This year some familiar faces return, and some get booted out of the top 10, and there are even a…
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When you hear ‘sustainable tourism’, let’s be honest, you wouldn’t picture yourself in a luxurious villa like the one above. However, we explored the finer side of the latest travel buzz-word in one of Thailand’s best hotels. Welcome to this month’s Hot Hotel, Soneva Kiri. The latest of the Soneva hotels to open, and still an established…
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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…
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Originally by Dominique Afacan, one of our DesignAir judges for forbes.com. She talks business, beds and Boeing with Roberto Abbondio, Head of Sales and Marketing UK/IR for Cathay Pacific. Cathay just won Best Business Class in the Airline Ratings.com awards – how does the cabin differ to the previous offering? It is a brand new concept. The thing we are very…
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So the votes are in. American Airlines employees have voted, and the figures have been totted up. The new American tail stays. According to airchive, there were 60,418 voters, which accounts for 60% of their staff. Interestingly, 31,355 people voted in favour of the tail. We can save you the math. That’s 52%. Not exactly…
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It’s no secret that we weren’t fans of American’s new livery when it came out, and although we loved the new 777 premium cabins, we thought the livery was missing the mark, being overtly American, one thing that Internationally has always been a nationalistic stereotype picked up on by the rest of the global community.…
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Flight: CX237 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER Class: Business Class Route: HKG-LHR Date: 1st December 2013 http://www.cathaypacific.co.uk Best for: Passengers wanting no-fuss elegant luxury, space and dining flying to and from Hong Kong. Most likely to sit next to: A mix of couples, suited business men and mainly passengers that keep themselves to themselves. Business or pleasure: Whilst there is no Wi-Fi on board, the…
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Flight: CX254 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER Class: Premium Economy Route: LHR-HKG Date: 30th November 2013 http://www.cathaypacific.co.uk Best for: Savvy frequent travellers who are happy with a great reclining chair but don’t want to spend their money on business class. Most likely to sit next to: On our flight, I was next to business travellers, one of which was a Boeing Engineer, and most…
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When we announced the launch of the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class product on the A330 we mentioned how much we loved the new bar designed by VW+BS, and recently they created a cool time-lapse video showing the design process over the period of 3 years. It’s a fascinating video, showing a natural evolution of the…
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Here at Thedesignair we have been watching the recent trend over the past few months of new uniforms being launched around the world, from China Eastern to Virgin Atlantic, new threads have become the new norm, lifting the inflight product and refreshing the cabin look and feel, whilst also (hopefully) making the cabin crew a…
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Thedesignair may have been a little quiet over the past few weeks, but we have been big in print this month, as well as our usual publications, we have featured in AUH magazine (for Abu Dhabi Airport) once again, and also a full feature in Airline retail news, read the full feature online here. We are…
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Here at TheDesignAir, our team of expert judges have looked at the liveries around the world this year and have come up with our Top 10 liveries for 2013. Whilst we have some great looking airlines from last year’s Top 10 still appearing in the list this year, there are some great new liveries that are…
Read MoreHere at thedesignair.net, we have almost been running for 6 years and produced in excess of 1,000 stories. We are thrilled that the website has grown so quickly, with such a great following. As the site grows, so do our partnerships, and we have worked hard to develop relationships with some of the best talent…
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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…
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For those who are regular visitors to my site may notice a few recent changes, from a new website address ‘thedesignair.net‘ to more Top 10 lists and recently added Trip Reports. This is all part of a campaign to expand and develop the site further to offer you more editorial, more competitions and more interviews with…
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