Airline

Three years ago, Virgin Atlantic Airways grabbed some headlines when it experimentally ran one of its 747s on a mixture of standard jet fuel and biofuel. While some called it a publicity stunt, it was the first time that a commercial airliner had flown using biofuel – albeit only in part of one of its four fuel tanks. Today, however, the airline announced that it’s developing an aviation fuel that will have half the carbon footprint of conventional fuel. The carbon savings won’t result from how cleanly the fuel burns, but from how it’s obtained. Read More

Samsung Mobile has sealed an agreement with AA that will see 6,000 of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets replacing ordinary in-flight screens on selected transcontinental and international flights from later this year. With passengers now being provided with tablet computers and cabin staff on some airlines also using them on the job, it only leaves the pilots – and they're set to join the tablet party in the not too distant future as well. Read More

Anyone who has taken a long haul flight will know that getting some shut eye during the flight can be a bit of a challenge at the best of times. Dealing with crying babies or restless children is only compounded by being crammed into seats that become more and more uncomfortable as the hours go by. Earlier this year we looked at the efforts of a number of airlines to make future air travel a more comfortable experience, including Air New Zealand’s “cuddle class” which features an Economy Skycouch. The new seat designs are now available in the airline’s new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with some of the first passengers to take advantage those on the aircraft’s inaugural flight from Los Angeles to London. Read More

We've come a long way from the early days of aviation. Aircraft cabins used to have more in common with our living rooms; seats were over-stuffed armchairs you could push around, and in-flight entertainment was a game of backgammon or bridge. It's tempting sometimes to wish for a return to those days – now it's more about either squeezing more people in, or providing a more comfortable experience only for those who can afford it. In this article, we're going to take a look at some new cushy options for your tush, and some others that seem quite outlandish ... Read More

Passengers boarding either a Cathay Pacific Airways or Dragonair jet in 2012 will be able to make use of broadband connectivity. This week, the airline confirmed an agreement with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to provide broadband access across its entire fleet with download speeds of up to 50Mbps (to the aircraft – not individual passengers), as well as call and data access for cell phones. Read More

Trying to sleep in an upright position on long haul flights can prove to be a difficult proposition for most of us, and a sleepless flight only compounds the jet lag that results from traversing time zones. With just about any International flight to or from New Zealand being a long haul affair it’s not surprising that the country’s international airline, Air New Zealand, is looking to make such trips a little more comfortable for passengers through a redesign of seating in economy class. The result is the holy grail of economy travel – a flat surface for adults to lie down and sleep! Read More

Business travellers have voted online check-in as the ‘innovation of the decade’; followed closely by Wi-Fi, flat beds, notebooks and the Eurostar. The top five innovations, hailed for immeasurably improving business travel over the last ten years, were revealed in a survey of 2,400 business travellers in London. Read More

Apart from adding tiny LCD screens to the headrests in airplanes, not much has changed in seating comfort in the airline industry for many years, though a couple of ideas have appeared but are yet to bear fruit. Now, with the advent of A380s and the retention of bulk people carriers like 747s, long haul flight prices might have dropped but they’re still tortuous for ‘cattle class’ fliers subjected to endless hours of boredom and contortionist-like sleeping conditions. But Jacob Innovations has developed the conceptual Flex-Seat, which can be configured in a number of ways to make the most of the vertical space often wasted inside airline cabins and putting the possibility of a good night’s sleep (or rest) within reach of most fliers. Read More

Another stand-out entry in the Create the Future Design Contest is the aircraft seat-bed design entered in the transportation section by Mario Martinez Celis from Mexico City. The concept design allows for 594 seats on the Airbus A380 which normally seats 555 but the real beauty of the configuration is that ALL passengers would be given the comfort of seat-beds with more space than ever before. Read More