AirAsia’s fleet development took a step forward last week as the carrier’s first A321neo was delivered from Airbus. The carrier has 353 A321neo aircraft on order, with the new deliveries slated for network expansion and replacement of older A320 family aircraft over time.
Seats & Cabin
Austrian updates seat selection with 3DSeatViewVR
Passengers who can see what they’re buying are more likely to spend extra for more legroom and other seating improvements. That’s the theory Austrian Airlines is working with as the carrier announced the introduction of a 3D preview during the seat selection process. The new service is available today on the airline’s website for flights operated on its Boeing 777 fleet.
Recaro’s iSeat brings the connected cabin to life on TAP Air Portugal
Some TAP Air Portugal seats are getting smarter. In partnership with aircraft seating giant Recaro the airline installed its first ever “intelligent seat” product in the cabin of a TAP A321. The economy class BL3530 seat is equipped with numerous sensors to gather data on seat performance and generic behavior during flight. The trial with […]
Lufthansa to cut inflight service on long-haul routes
Feeling peckish towards the end of a long flight? On most airlines a second meal typically shows up an hour or two before landing. For economy and premium economy class passengers on Lufthansa, however, the hot meal will no longer be provided. That’s just one of the changes – mostly bad for passengers – rolling out later this month
What to expect on board as United’s new CRJ550 takes flight
Removing nearly 30% of the seats from an aircraft is guaranteed to make the remaining product a more comfortable experience. Still, until United Airlines opened up its new CRJ550 to passengers over the weekend it was not clear just how much better the on board passenger experience would be. This plane is a big win, and not just for first class passengers.
Spirit picks Airbus–again–for a significant fleet boost
Spirit Airlines has big growth plans on its mind. The carrier announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus today to add 100 A320neo family aircraft to its order book, more than doubling the fleet by 2027.
Sunrise Stretch: PaxEx Update 2019-10-18
The beginnings of Project Sunrise and extra leg room for the Kiwis. Plus more wifi (maybe) coming in China and another loyalty top tier moves further away.
Get these stories and more in this week’s PaxEx Update.
United plans more seats per departure with fleet renewal
United Airlines wants to get bigger. The carrier has plans to expand its fleet in the coming years but it also wants to get more seats in the sky per flight. And it wants to accomplish that without adding more seats to the existing aircraft. It is a somewhat complicated challenge, but if things go right United expects 3% more seats per departure on average a year from now.
Acro seats selected for Ukraine’s SkyUp Airlines
Score another customer for the Acro’s slimline seat portfolio. Ukrainian LCC and charter operator SkyUp Airlines will fly the Acro Series 3 Ultra on its fleet of 737 NG planes connecting Kiev to the region.
Air France picks ECOS for bigger bins on A320 family
Air France passengers will soon find more overhead bin space on board. The carrier announced its intention to retrofit 40 A320s and 11 A321s with the”Efficient Cabin Open Space” ECOS bins from Safran. Air France is the first customer for Safran’s new product.