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.
seats
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.
JHAS picks up a customer, launches a new seating line
Even older planes deserve a refresh inside from time to time. And sometimes that can mean a new product launch as well. This week Italian upstart aircraft seating manufacturer JHAS announced that Tayaran Jet will be the launch customer for its new Aurora 2.0 economy class seating concept.
On board the new JetBlue A321neo
What’s it like to fly on JetBlue’s newest A321neo? Come along on board as I put it through the paces.
SAS selects Thompson for A321LR business class
Lie-flat for long-haul. Even on its new, smaller planes, that’s the plan for SAS. Business class passengers will fly on the Thompson Vantage seat as the A321LR joins the carrier’s fleet starting early next year.
New challengers at every level: PaxEx Update 2019-08-30
New cabins on the horizon for economy and business class, short-haul and long; might travel get more comfortable rather than less? Plus some good news for travelers looking to get online in the sky or earn free travel with their points.
A look inside as the MC-21 aims to compete with Airbus, Boeing
The test aircraft are flying. The order book is growing. The Irkut MC-21-300 will compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo for airline customers in the next decade and beyond. And, for the first time ever, we now know what the cabin interior will look like.
LATAM focuses on sleep with new Premium Business refresh
Long-haul service on LATAM is refocusing on a better sleep experience as the company introduces a new Premium Business service concept and updated cabin configuration. Flat beds with direct aisle access replace a much more cramped layout on the carrier’s 777-300ER fleet while a new culinary concept and cabin crew protocols aim to provide more comfort and privacy to passengers on board.
In search of premium: PaxEx Update (2019-08-23)
Where are the premium passengers at? United and Qantas are both pushing new projects that aim to deliver a compelling product and collect those higher yields. Plus a new inflight wifi solution hits an installation milestone and more!
Mirus reaches linefit milestone for Airbus A320 family
Seating manufacturer Mirus hit a major milestone this week, dispatching its first ship set of seats to Hamburg for installation on an aircraft at the Airbus factory. The seats are expected to be installed on the final assembly line at Finkenwerder next week, with first flight and customer (AirAsia) delivery shortly thereafter.