Thursday, April 25, 2024
Book Flights
 
Home Blog Page 304

Delta jazzes up its New Orleans presence with new lounge

By
Steve Creedy
delta new orleans lounge
Delta's New Sky Club in New Orleans. Image: Delta.

Gumbo, oysters and local beer are among the pleasures available at the latest Delta Sky Club at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport’s new terminal.

The new Sky Club, located at the entrance to the C Concourse,  opened its doors November 6 and pays homage to the city and its celebrated art, jazz, and cuisine.

This includes design inspired by local culture and regionally-inspired artwork, including pieces from local artists.

READ: Delta ups the ante with major international main cabin revamp.

Other highlights include a regionally-inspired cuisine including oysters, gumbo and muffuletta sandwiches rotating seasonally.

The food can be washed down with seasonal cocktails as well as beer from the Abita, Gnarly Barley and Port Orleans brewing companies or wine selected by Delta’s Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson.

The comfortable seating features power outlets at every seat and the airline is promising high-speed Wi-Fi.

Dalta
Photo: Delta

“This new Delta Sky Club creates an ideal space for guests to recharge,” Delta Sky Club managing director Claude Roussel said in announcing the lounge’s opening.

“The unmatched Club experience will wow our guests traveling through New Orleans.”

The new facility replaces the existing New Orleans Club for passengers on Delta flights.

Delta offers 25 peak-day departures with nonstop service to eight of its U.S. hubs, including three daily flights to New York City (LaGuardia and JFK) and two daily flights to Los Angeles.

The $US1.3 billion new terminal in which the club and Delta have now situated spans 972,000 square feet and features three concourses, 35 gates, and several additional parking options.

The New Orleans Sky Club is among several end-of-year upgrades being unveiled by the airline, including more comfortable seating and a completely redesigned food and bar experience at the John F. Kennedy International Airport Terminal 4 Club.

Enhancements in the pipeline include an almost 28,000-square-foot new Sky Club at Salt Lake International Airport in 2020 and a new facility at Los Angeles International Airport in 2022, both of which will feature a Sky Deck.

Over the past several years, Delta also opened new Clubs at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and a refreshed Club at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, along with new flagship clubs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The airline has also now launched its enhanced international economy-class service on eligible flights worldwide. This features hot towels, a welcome cocktail, on-demand snacks and improved meals with greater choice.

 

Boeing proposes “fewest steps to the moon”

By
Steve Creedy
Boeing moon
The Integrated Human lander System. Image: Boeing

Boeing has proposed using one rocket launch to deliver an integrated lunar lander system to lunar orbit as part of US plans to return to the moon under the Artemis program.

The aerospace giant says the approach reduces the complexity and risk of sending multiple elements into space on a number of launches and reduces the number of “mission-critical” events to five from the 11 it says are required by other strategies.

It says its integrated lander also can carry itself from lunar orbit to the surface without an additional transfer stage or “space tug,” further reducing launches and simplifying the steps to a successful landing.

READ: Boeing’s Starliner passes crucial test.

“Using the lift capability of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B, we have developed a ‘Fewest Steps to the Moon’ approach that minimizes mission complexity, while offering the safest and most direct path to the lunar surface,” said Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Space and Launch for Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

US President Donald Trump issued a policy directive in 2017 directing NASA to return astronauts to the moon before heading to Mars.

The administration wants to land humans by 2024 and NASA has indicated it intends to land the first woman on the moon as part of the program.

Artemis has several components including the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a space station around the moon that would be accessed by the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle designed to take astronauts beyond Earth orbit and capable of carrying up to six astronauts.

Several private companies, including Space X and Blue Origin, are also competing for the project.

Boeing proposes using the giant SLS rocket currently in production at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), arguing it has “unmatched lift capability that builds on proven flight components”.

This approach shortens development time and lowers risk, enabling NASA to safely land on the moon’s surface by 2024, it says.

Boeing moon
Lift-off from the lunar surface. Image: Boeing.

It argues the lander’s flexible design allows for the fastest path to lunar flights while providing a robust platform that can perform NASA’s full range of exploration missions.

The spacecraft will be able to dock with the Gateway lunar orbiter or directly with NASA’s Orion to eliminate the need for an additional spacecraft.

The aerospace giant is promising advances in the design that include innovations in its engines, composites, and automated landing and rendezvous systems.

It says key technologies are based on its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which recently passed a crucial abort test will be fully demonstrated during a flight to the International Space Station planned for December.

Boeing partnered with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and Kennedy Space Center and says it will collaborate closely with NASA to integrate, certify, and operate its system.

Air France CEO slams obsolete, problem-prone A380

By
Steve Creedy
A380
Photo: Eric Salard, Wikimedia Commons

Air France has already announced it will phase out its ten Airbus A380s by 2022. Rarely has an airline been as unhappy with the Airbus giant as the French, who are in general taking every Airbus aircraft. CEO Anne Rigail talked exclusively with AirlineRatings during the recent inaugural A350 flight from Paris to Toronto.

Air France A380
Air france CEO Anne Rigail. Photo: Andreas Spaeth.

 

It seems the A380 was always more a burden than a vehicle of choice for Air France, do you agree?

 

Anne Rigail: I would not say that it was a burden from the beginning. I don’t know if anyone would have been able to forecast it at the time, but the A350 and the Dreamliner just made the A380 totally obsolete, too expensive, too big. Operationally it has always been a very difficult aircraft, you need specific ramp equipment, you need to rebuild runways and taxiways, you need special boarding ramps. I say this because I was working at our CDG hub when the A380 arrived – operationally it has always been problematic. Because you even need special training for everyone on the ramp, I have never seen this before. In comparison, it’s so easy to train people to handle an A350. But when the A380 came to Air France in 2009, it replaced two aircraft types, so on the cost side, it wasn’t too bad. Since the efficiency of the A350 and the 787 is the same, but with less capacity and more flexibility, you can put them on any route. So, of course, the A380 is no longer useful. And we have all kinds of problems with it – related to the structure, the engines. And not only now when the aircraft get older – it has always been difficult with the A380.

READ: Cebu Pacific firms order for world’s most crowded plane

But still, it creates positive emotions for passengers.

 

Rigail: Customers love this aircraft and they still do. It’s quiet, it’s big, it’s beautiful. I like to see A380s in the morning when they take off. But now we feel it’s a constraint, but it’s a bit sad that Airbus now stops production. We still like this aircraft, but it’s not suitable to keep it while pursuing our strategy because you must put it on your busiest routes. The investment for cabin upgrades is huge – it would cost us €35m per aircraft, I did the research myself.

 

Air France always promised an upgrade of the 2009-vintage cabins would start “soon”…

 

Rigail: Yes, I said that myself and we were quite committed to do it. But when you look at the overall investment when you add the refurbishment and the heavy maintenance checks due soon, the cost is so high that we think it’s better to renew the fleet. It is just more beneficial for the years to come to have new generation aircraft. I think the A380 is just outdated now.

 

Air France still goes with Airbus, has just ordered the A220, are you also considering the A321XLR?

 

Rigail: Our medium-haul fleet will consist of one half of the Airbus A220 of which we will get 60 delivered between 2021 and 2025. The other half will be A320s and A321s that we will keep. The answer to the question by which aircraft type this half of the fleet will ultimately be replaced is in progress, we haven’t decided anything yet, but the A321XLR is an option. We know it is a fantastic aircraft. It can bring a new market proposition and we look at it with a special focus and are doing our studies. It would replace the older part of the fleet and it is a flexible aircraft. It is not a short-term priority, but rather the partial renewal of the medium-haul fleet replacing A318s and A319s with the A220s. That’s the first step. The next step will be to replace the A380, we study which aircraft will be suitable. Half our total fleet will be renewed by 2025, that’s a lot of aircraft, creating a huge pressure to build up the investment. So we focus to reduce our fixed costs.

 

But beyond this Air France is in the middle of a transformation process…

 

Rigail: We have to transform an old airline with all its management layers to achieve more efficient processes in operations. And what’s new is that we want to design our new organization and revamped processes engaging with the people that live these processes on a day-to-day basis. This is a total cultural change. It is not only Air France engaging in a cultural transformation; if you go to all the big companies in France, everyone has the same targets – to work quicker, to digitize and change the decision-making processes.

 

KLM seems to be far ahead of Air France not only in this respect. When do you expect Air France to be on eye level with KLM?

 

Rigail: I expect our core profit margin to match that of KLM within five years, by 2024. But the question remains if we will be able to totally eliminate the current gap between Air France and KLM with the economical context of France, the level of taxes and social charges in France. To totally eliminate this gap we need a strong alignment with the government on the strategy of the French transport industry. We just had two airline bankruptcies (Aigle Azur and XL Airways, the editor) and we will have a new eco tax like in Germany. But we need to work with the government to create a level playing field for competition.

 

Air France has taken over all of the group’s Airbus A350 orders. Aren’t there more unused synergies like this with KLM?

 

Rigail: This is an example of fleet simplification and this swap was a good move even if we keep the 787s in our long haul fleet as well, which is big enough for different types of aircraft. We are getting rid of the A340s and A380s and stay with A330s and A350s, and of course our large Boeing 777 fleet, plus ten 787-9s by early 2020. With three different kinds of cockpit crews, it will be a lot better than now. And in many other areas, both companies and also myself, we live synergies every day.

 

 

 

 

 

Starlux: A strange beast and where to find it.

By
Steve Creedy
Starlux
Image: Starlux

Whenever a new airline is founded these days, one has to take it with a pinch of salt, especially if it’s anything more than a low-cost carrier.

Making a full-service airline with business class work — especially in a market with multiple competitors who are part of the world’s large airline alliances — is hugely complex.

Enter Taipei-based Starlux, a startup backed by Chang Kuo-wei, a former senior executive with EVA Air, ousted from the company after a struggle for power several years ago.

The market incumbents are relative giants: Nikkei quotes China Airlines’ fleet sitting at 83 aircraft serving 152 destinations, with EVA at 77 aircraft covering 62 destinations.

READ: Is it a car? Is it a plane? Meet Embraer’s visionary bizjet.

Both have invested heavily in their fleet and hard product in recent years, particularly in their premium cabins.

It is thus fascinating that this is the end of the market that Starlux intends to compete in.

It’s entirely possible, of course, that Chang’s understanding of the cost base of the two legacy airlines (China Airlines is 60 years old while EVA is 30) means that management sees clear blue water between minimum costs and fare yields.

It certainly doesn’t feel like they’re cutting corners in the passenger experience department, with fully-featured seats and modern inflight entertainment systems in both business and economy classes, as well as free basic Internet connectivity.

Up front, it’s two rows of Collins Aerospace’s stalwart Diamond seat in its usual 2-2 configuration, for a total of eight seats. Diamond is one of the two seats most often seen on longer-haul or premium-focussed narrowbodies, the other being the Thompson Vantage staggered product that is perhaps best known as the jetBlue Mint seat.

It looks like the airline’s partner BMW Designworks — itself an impressive partner in the effort to start an airline — has earned its keep here.

Starlux
Sensibly, Starlux hasn’t tried to customize the seats itself. Photo: Starlux.

The airline says that its business class is “settled and tranquil, employing relatively dark and elegant colors to evoke the majesty of the galaxy. While the cushions and privacy dividers are a classical dark grey and rose gold the color of Cashmere Silver inspired by BMW adds a futuristic, hi-tech touch to the back shells.”

The overall effect is attractive and distinctive, not least because it is rare to find an airline doubling down on the darker colours in its brand palette, despite the success of those who have: the Delta ONE Suites, for example, or the United Polaris seat, both of which leverage the deeper tones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrGKSDGn4eU

Down the back, economy is more standard, but still offers a full inflight entertainment system and USB power. It’s certainly well up to standard for the region, and better than quite a few competitors.

Starlux Taiwan
Photo: Starlux

The problem for any small airline, particularly one offering a premium cabin, is that a substantial part of the economics for business class stack up as the result of connecting passengers between its longhaul and shorthaul or regional network.

And it’s here that Starlux’s fleet plans are somewhat odd. It plans to take a mix of Airbus narrowbody A321neo and widebody A350 aircraft, with ten A321neo, five A350-900 and twelve A350-1000 twinjets on order.

This is a curious ratio of narrowbody-to-widebody aircraft — one would ordinarily expect substantially more narrowbodies per widebody in order to funnel connections — unless Starlux is expecting an unusually amount of demand from its domestic market outbound and regional tourism inbound.

Deliveries of all ten A321neos are scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021, while the A350s will only start being delivered in that year, through 2024, meaning that the narrowbodies will have a couple of years to drum up demand and get the brand known before the widebodies arrive.

That will be a crucial inflection point for Starlux: will the airline fill its A321s before its A350 arrives — and will it source further narrowbodies to serve as connecting markets for its route network?

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft passes crucial test

By
Steve Creedy
Starliner Boeing
Image: Boeing

The return to orbit of US manned spacecraft moved a step closer Monday with a successful abort test of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner described as a critical milestone.

The two-minute test simulated a launch pad emergency as an uncrewed Starliner spacecraft lifted off under its own power from a test stand at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Although only two of three parachutes deployed, Boeing said the vehicle was able to demonstrate the proper performance of numerous integrated systems needed to successfully propel the capsule away from its Atlas V rocket during ascent.

READ: Ryanair expects further delay in MAX deliveries to cut growth.

The test comes as Boeing gears up for a December 17 launch from Florida of an uncrewed demonstration mission to the International Space station.

Watch an edited video of the test:

“The test team and spacecraft performed flawlessly,” Starliner program manager John Mulholland.

“Emergency scenario testing is very complex, and today our team validated that the spacecraft will keep our crew safe in the unlikely event of an abort.”

The test used four launch abort engines (LAEs) and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control (OMAC) thrusters.

The engines developed 90,000lbs of thrust to accelerate the Starliner away from the test stand and propel it a mile in just under 20 seconds before parachutes and the craft’s forward heat shield were deployed.

The service and crew modules separated after almost 34 seconds and the crew capsule descended slowly to a safe landing under the parachutes, jettisoning the base heat shield and deploying airbags before landing.

The crew module touched down 95 seconds after the abort engines fired.

“We’ve tested all these systems individually, so we know the propulsion system fires at the intended levels, and we know the parachutes can support the vehicle and safely slow it down, but the real test is making sure those systems can perform together,’’ said Boeing’s pad abort test flight director Alicia Evans.

“That’s when you know these systems are ready to fly people.”

Experts will now comb through the data from the test and examine the crew module, which can be reused up to 10 times.

The December 17 orbital test will see a Starliner launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an Atlas V rocket.

It will dock with the International ASpace Station and stay about a week before landing at White Sands.

Space X is testing a rival vehicle called the Crew Dragon which has already flown into orbit and is expected to also conduct an abort test this month or next.

Both projects have faced delays, including an explosion involving the Crew Dragon capsule that visited the ISS during a subsequent test of the escape engines.

 

 

 

Is it a car? Is it a plane? Meet Embraer’s visionary bizjet

By
Steve Creedy
Embraer
Plane-to-car: Embraer's Pulse concept. Image; Embraer.

Part aircraft and part Batmobile, this cool video shows what engineers at Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer see as the future of business aviation.

The #Pulse Concept stemmed from a challenge by Embraer during its 50th year that called on its engineers to envisage what business aviation would look like in another half a century.

The result was a sleek aircraft featuring artificial intelligence and virtual reality in a high-tech cabin designed to allow passengers to socialize as they would on a yacht.

After landing, the cabin is transferred to a powerful car body.

Ryanair expects further delay in MAX deliveries to cut growth

By
Steve Creedy
Ryanair737 MAX
Photo: Ryanair.

Ryanair now expects its Boeing 737 MAX deliveries to be delayed to March or April 2020 and says the risk of a further setabck is rising.

The European low-cost carrier originally expected to receive the first plane in the second quarter of 2019 but this was thwarted by the grounding of the global MAX fleet after two fatal accidents.

READ: Cebu pacific firms order for world’s most crowded plane.

Ryanair said in its first-half results that it now expects to receive just 20 MAX-200 aircraft in time for the 2020 summer peak instead of the 58 it first expected.

This would cut its summer growth from 7 percent to 3 percent and means it will carry an estimated 157 million passengers in fiscal 2021 compared to a previous prediction of 162 million.

“We remain confident that these “gamechanger” aircraft (which have 4 percent more seats, but burn 16 percent less fuel) when delivered will transform our cost base and our business for the next decade,’’ Ryanair said in its results announcement.

“Due to these delivery delays, we will not see any of these expected cost savings delivered until FY21.”

There is still no definitive date for a MAX return to service. Boeing is hoping the US Federal Aviation Administration decision on a crucial changes to flight control software and training within weeks.

Even if that happens, however,  aircraft are unlikely to return to scheduled service until the New Year.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that US carriers plan to conduct their own demonstration flights to reassure the public ahead of a return to service.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also plans to conduct an assessment and the head of the agency, Patrick KY,  has said this will mean a return to service in early 2020.

READ: Europe expects MAX to return early next year.

Ryanair reported its first-half results were flat with a net profit of €1.15 billion and the airline was cautious about the remainder of the year with a narrowed full-year guidance for an after-tax profit of an €800m to €900m.

“We try to avoid the unreliable optimism of some competitors,’’ the airline said.

“Full-year traffic will grow 8 percent to 153m but we expect a slightly better fare environment than last winter (although we have limited H2 visibility).

“This, however, remains sensitive to any market uncertainty such as a ‘no deal’ Brexit.”

The results showed first-half revenue at the carrier grew 11 percent to €5.39bn.

Scheduled Sales rose 5 percent to €3.74bn as it carried 86m guests at 5 percent lower air fares due to the weak consumer demand in the UK and overcapacity in Germany and Austria.

A bright spot was ancillary revenue, which jumped 28 percent to €1.65bn as more passengers chose priority boarding and preferred seat services.

The LCC said it expected ancillary revenues to grow ahead of traffic growth in the second half to support a full year unit revenue rise of 2 to 3 percent.

 

Cebu Pacific firms order for world’s most crowded plane

By
Steve Creedy
Cebu pacific airlines

Philippines-based Cebu Pacific has signed a firm order with Airbus for 16 long-range A330neo aircraft destined to become the world’s most crowded plane.

The 460-seat wide-body aircraft will be in an all-economy configuration and Airbus was able to “rearrange the furniture” to add 24 seats compared to other A330neos.

READ: Korean Air goes K-pop in glitzy video.

The order is the wide-body component of a Memorandum of Understanding announced at the Paris Air Show and which also included commitments for 10 A321XLR and five A320neo single-aisle aircraft.

Cebu Pacific (CEB) plans to operate the aircraft on trunk routes within the Philippines and the rest of Asia, as well as on longer range services to Australia and the Middle East.

“The A330neo is integral to our fleet modernization program,” said Cebu pacific chief executive Lance Gokongwei.

“With this purchase, we aim to reduce our fuel emission and build a more sustainable operation.

“This will also give us the lowest cost per seat, at the same time enabling CEB to increase seat capacity and maximize valuable airport slots in Manila and other Asian megacities.”

Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer said the order was an important  endorsement “for the value-based proposition that the A330neo brings to highly competitive markets”.

“The increased capacity version of the aircraft developed for Cebu Pacific will help achieve even greater efficiencies for high density regional and long-range routes,” he said.

Incorporating new Trent 7000 engines from Rolls-Royce and a new wing, the A330neo offers a 25 percent reduction in fuel consumption compared with older generation aircraft,

It has an extended range capability of up to 8,000 nautical miles, or 15,000 kilometres.

The A330neo cabin also features Airspace by Airbus with amenities that include state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi connectivity systems.

Korean Air goes K-pop in glitzy new safety video

By
Steve Creedy
Koreean Air video K-pop
A scene from the Video. Image: Korean Air

Korean Air has joined the “safety doesn’t have to be boring” movement while launching a slick new safety video it says is aimed at contributing to the global spread of K-pop.

The toe-tapping, youth-oriented safety announcement-cum-music video stars Super M , a “project group” comprised of already successful K-pop members.

READ: Epic new Star wars safety video sees United join The Force.

The airline describes  the video as “unconventional, innovative and entertaining” although it goes to great lengths to concede that several airlines have introduced “witty safety videos featuring national celebrities” and at least one case of a safety video in a music video form.

Judge the video for yourself:

There have also been, it acknowledges, a few hobbits and elves along the way as well as a song-and-dance routine

But it is adamant this is the first safety/music video to feature influential K-pop artists.

“Korean Air’s unique safety video drew on the popularity of K-pop and Korean culture,’’ it says.

“Korean Air’s collaboration with SuperM is expected to create great synergy in expanding its global impact and network.

“With the launch of the new safety video, Korean Air plans to actively contribute to the spreading of K-pop and Korean pop culture around the world. “

The idea, according to the airline, is to deliver essential safety information by grabbing passengers’  attention.

It has even mixed five genres in the video — hip-hop, R&B, electronic, deep house and synth-pop — in an effort to broaden its appeal.

“Safety does not have to be serious or boring,” adds a mysterious Korean Air spokesperson who led the creation of the safety video.

“We hope to deliver clear safety messages to our passengers through the brand-new safety video.”

The safety video’s song, “Let’s go Everywhere”, will be released as a single and profits donated to the Global Poverty Project’s Global Citizen campaign.

 

 

 

United retrofit of Polaris moves at a glacial pace

By
Steve Creedy
United Polaris glacial
United Polaris. Photo: United.

Some three and a half years ago, United Airlines introduced Polaris, its new brand for its upgraded business class.

The boost was both in terms of hard product, being the launch customer for a highly customized version of Safran Seats’ Optima, and in terms of soft product, with new lounges, food and beverage concepts, partnerships with Saks Fifth Avenue, and so on.

The rollout of Polaris-the-seat, though, has been nothing short of glacial, and not the modern, global-warming, ice-caps-disappearing sort of glacial either.

READ: Jetstar unveils its new A321LR cabin

“We’re adding at least one aircraft with United Polaris seating every 10 days from now through 2020,” has been United’s line, although it comes with an asterisk that this is “based on the average of both retrofits and new aircraft (777-300ER and 787-10)”.

Any Boeing 777-300ER or 787-10 will have the new seats for certain.

At the time of writing, it’s a 63-percent crapshoot with either the 777-200ER (of which there are 51) or the 767-300ER (of which United has 38).

The 787-8 has recently moved to the “in progress” column, with one of the 12 aircraft currently being converted, but that’s it.

Overall, of the aircraft that have been started, that’s a 62-percent chance of getting Polaris.

However, you also have to realize that United hasn’t even started on the 767-400ER or the 787-9s, of which fleet-tracking website airfleets.net says United has 16 and 25, respectively.

The airline promises to start its large 787-9 fleet “in late 2019”, of which there is of course not much left, while the 767-400ER (the extra-stretched version taken up only by US carriers) is due to start sometime “in 2020”.

What that means is that you currently still have only a 48-percent chance of being on a United Polaris-branded flight with the actual Polaris seat.

(If you’re waiting for the lounges, it’s pretty much the same situation: five of the nine are done — Los Angeles, Houston, Newark, San Francisco, and Chicago — while Washington DC is currently under construction, with London Heathrow, Hong Kong and Tokyo Narita listed as “in planning”.)

Slow rollouts are by no means a problem unique to United: indeed, they are a wider problem in an industry where passenger experience marketing promises are ever greater, and where the gap between promise and reality is increasingly noticeable.

To whit, United’s passenger experience in business class is not the proper Polaris all its marketing has promised since mid-2016.

It’s the same decade-old seat that Continental launched back in its BusinessFirst days, the Diamond seat from Collins Aerospace (which is so old that this is the third name its manufacturer has had, previously being Rockwell Collins and before that B/E Aerospace).

I call this #Fauxlaris, and it’s still a disappointment: not only are the seats themselves subpar, but the mountain of duvets-blankets-pillows-and-all have nowhere to be stowed.

This might be fine on an airline from a country where “hmm, better bring the kitchen sink” isn’t the default carryon baggage allowance assumption, but not in the US.

United
Diamond is fine for mid-haul these days but United uses it on some of its longest flights.-

The lesson for airlines is a stark one.

New seats are expensive, yes, and there are of course supply chain issues with their production.

Indeed, United had 777-300ERs sitting in Seattle waiting for Polaris seats to be delivered.

In the same way that an increasing number of airlines are seeking operational fleet redundancy by choosing multiple aircraft suppliers, choosing multiple seat manufacturers to produce hard product for those fleets, along the lines of what Etihad did with its Business Studio, may well make much sense for the future.

1...303304305...643Page 304 of 643

THE RATINGS YOU NEED!

AIRLINE SAFETY RATINGS
The only place in the world to get ALL Airline Safety Ratings in one place! The ONLY airline rating that includes Safety, Product and COVID-19 safety ratings! Visit our Ratings Now!

2024 Airline Excellence Awards

View our special section announcing the 2024 Airline Excellence Awards!

AIRLINERATINGS NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to have AirlineRatings.com Newsletter delivered to your inbox!

PHOTO GALLERY

View These Retro Ads About Air Travel & The Environment
Can
Flying With Family Or Business? Why Not Both!? (Retro Photo Gallery)

STAY CONNECTED

61,936FansLike
2,336FollowersFollow
4,714FollowersFollow
681FollowersFollow

MOST RATED


Book Flights
 
© Copyright 2019 AirlineRatings.com
Cookie settings