Airlines
SWISS unveils new ‘SWISS Senses’ air travel experience with totally new cabin interiors
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is to offer its customers a totally new and more personalized ‘SWISS Senses’ air travel experience from 2025 onwards. The centerpiece of the new customer product is an entirely redesigned cabin for the airline’s long-haul aircraft fleet. SWISS unveiled its new cabin interiors to the public today.
SWISS extends Premium Economy Class to its Airbus A340 fleet(Opens in a new browser tab)
SWISS First: privacy assured
The new SWISS First suites offer their guests total privacy with closable sliding doors, a spacious personal wardrobe, a large seat table, seat heating and cooling, a wireless charging station and a screen display that is as wide as the suite itself. An advanced and spacious new washroom has also been developed for the new SWISS First cabin. The facility draws its inspiration from the famous spring in Vals in Canton Graubünden: a slate-black exterior, and a green interior that alludes to the spring’s fresh and cooling water.
SWISS Business: aisle access from every seat
The totally redesigned SWISS Business cabin is intentionally conceived to meet a wide range of wishes and needs. In addition to ‘classic’ Business Class seats, the new cabin offers various further seating options such as double seats for passengers travelling together. Selected seats can also be closed off with a sliding door. All the new SWISS Business seats feature seat heating and cooling and a wireless charging station.
SWISS Premium Economy: tried-and-trusted retained
The highly popular SWISS Premium Economy Class with its greater seat comfort and superior cabin service will remain an integral feature within the new air travel experience. SWISS was the first airline in the Lufthansa Group to introduce the new Premium Economy seat which, with its 48-centimetre width and its almost one-metre pitch, has set new industry benchmarks.
SWISS Economy: optimum construction for greater seat pitch
The new SWISS Economy cabin will be equipped with new comfortable and functional seats. Thanks to their optimum construction, seat pitch has been increased. The new cabin interiors will be installed from 2025 onwards, initially on the SWISS Airbus A330-300 fleet and later on the company’s Boeing 777-300ERs. The new Airbus A350-900s on order will be delivered with their new cabins already installed.
Airlines
Oldest Qantas A380 returns to service after being in storage : 16 years +
The Airbus A380 stands as an icon in the aviation world, captivating travelers with its engineering marvel. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a halt in its production, causing a surge in demand for airline travel and a scarcity of these aircraft. Now, many airlines are eager to reintroduce the A380 into their fleets to address this shortage.
Qantas, among the airlines, had one of its A380 aircraft sitting in storage for over 16 years. Now, they’re keen to put it back into service to meet the soaring demand. Meanwhile, Emirates, Etihad, and British Airways continue to operate their A380s.
Qantas’s A380, which made its debut landing at London Gatwick, had initially landed at 07:45 BST from Sydney via Singapore. Operated by the registration VH-OQJ, this flight marked a significant return to service.
Another Qantas A380, registered as VH-OQA, recently resumed operations after being stored in Abu Dhabi for over a year. Its return to Sydney on April 5 signaled its readiness to serve again. This fifteen-and-a-half-year-old aircraft made its first post-storage flight on April 6, a 13-hour journey from SYD to LAX, devoid of passengers. Shortly after arrival, it was swiftly deployed for a long-haul flight, QF11, from SYD to LAX.
These trial flights, including the Sydney to London Gatwick route, demonstrate the aircraft’s renewed capability for regular services.
Qantas, like other carriers, faces a challenge in meeting the surging passenger demand with its existing fleet. Hence, the decision to bring back stored aircraft to service is a strategic move to cater to this growing need.
Delivered to Qantas in September 2008, this A380 boasts 12 units, all equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines and a maximum take-off weight of approximately 570,000 kg (~1.26 million lbs). Most have a seating capacity of 485, including 14 first-class seats.
Airlines
British Airways Unveils Two Groundbreaking Weather Apps for UK Operations
In an effort to better prepare for and lessen the impact of weather on any planned flight path, British Airways will be the first airline in the UK to launch two next-generation weather applications. These apps will give pilots and the flight planning teams access to real-time weather data.
At the moment, teams rely on manually created weather reports that are created early in the day. The new apps will enable pilots and flight planning teams to make more operationally effective decisions by allowing them to evaluate the effects of weather variations in real-time and better plan and adjust flight paths.
The first app will provide pilots of the airline with convenient access to weather information from The Weather Company, providing in-depth analysis of weather conditions along flight paths both prior to takeoff and during flight.
To further enhance its capabilities, future upgrades will make use of the onboard Wi-Fi connectivity* to provide real-time in-flight weather updates. The app that will eventually work with the new technologies available to pilots to provide them with exact information on weather changes will also be accessible to the airline’s Integrated Operations Control centre, the operational hub that keeps the airline operating smoothly.
The technology, which is being implemented ahead of the busy summer season, has been built and set to precisely meet the requirements of british airways credit cards’ wide route network, offering benefits across both short- and long-haul operations. This large investment is a component of british airways amex ‘ £7 billion transformation initiative, which is still focused on expanding the airline’s use of modern technologies throughout its operations.
The airline replaced its paper-based system for engineering teams earlier this year with the new Electronic Aircraft Maintenance (eLog) system, which enables instantaneous data transfer from the aircraft to engineers in a matter of seconds. This allows for the pre-ordering of any necessary parts, speeding up the resolution of issues.
Airlines
IndiGo beats Southwest Airlines to Become world’s largest airline by market cap
India’s aviation giant, IndiGo, has soared to new heights, surpassing the renowned US-based Southwest Airlines to claim the title of the world’s third most valuable airline, as per Bloomberg data released on Wednesday.
The surge in IndiGo’s market capitalization, fueled by a remarkable 4.73% jump in its share price to Rs 3,806, catapulted its market value to $17.605 billion, edging past Southwest’s $17.333 billion market cap.
IndiGo’s strategic plans for expansion further solidify its position in the global aviation landscape. With intentions to add 10 new destinations to its network in the fiscal year 2025, the airline anticipates a substantial increase in capacity and passenger growth, aiming for a gross addition of over one aircraft per week during the same period.
Such ambitious endeavors, coupled with a burgeoning demand for travel attributed to tourism and a stable oil price environment, have contributed to the surge in IndiGo’s stock prices. Analysts at InterGlobe Securities attribute indigo partners airlines upward trajectory to several factors, including the operational challenges faced by competitor Vistara and the burgeoning appetite for travel among Indian households.
The rise in income has elevated air travel to a lifestyle staple, with leisure holidays becoming increasingly prevalent. indigo partners As the holiday season approaches, airports across the nation are bracing for heightened activity, promising sustained momentum for IndiGo in the months ahead.