It’s time for a quick look back at my year in travel, in Review 2025 – Kevin’s Year in Passenger Experience.
A hamstrung year
My travel year has very much been back-loaded this year, with a lot of planned trips sitting in the bin – mainly due to a lot of changes in my life. Whilst there are some changes I can handle, this year has proved… rough – I wouldn’t dress that up.
Those of you who know the industry I have my other foot in will know that it’s been an awful year, with next year looking… like a disaster brewing. Combine with Microsoft and people in other places taking time to make decisions, and a lot of trips have ended before I even booked them.
Airlines
British Airways
This year has been a mixture of paid short-haul business, paid long-haul economy and redemption in Club Europe.
Club Europe has been consistent, no matter the flight length. Crew is attentive and working either as fast as they can, or taking their time on segments when they can.
World Traveller Plus has been a different kettle of fish with service drops here and there, and honestly, apart from the space, it hasn’t been worth it.
American Airlines
Middle of the road as middle of the road is. The new seats in their 78P in Economy configuration are more than passable, as well as the ever welcome inflight icecream. But nothing stands out to report.
Turkish Airlines
I’ve flown short-haul and long-haul with Turkish Airlines for the first time this year. I’ll leave my full impressions for the trip reports that are coming out over the next few weeks, but I think I’ll use the term “it’s great… but aren’t you trying a little too hard?”.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good service, but there’s elelemts from other airlines I’ve seen in the past, but they are playing on certain things that make me go… really?
I’ll have to keep an eye on this into next year.
AirAsia
Like a lot of low-cost carriers,it’ss very much a case of “play the game, or we’ll bankrupt you in the process”. The airline was excellent at turning around an A320neo in 30 minutes, and in-flight meal options were excellent.
Even on a 50 mintue segement. I just wish they would ease up on the announcements…
Malaysia Airlines
Another short haul segement, this time down the back of the aircraft. Fewer announcements, but an efficient service and very friendly staff. Maybe one day again.
As long as they don’t total my luggage.
SAS
A third new airline for me this year, as I flew them between Oslo and Heathrow on a traditional fare, which included hold luggage. Even though I was assigned an aisle seat, I was able to move to a window seat (hint: keep the app on your phone after you check in).
Heck, I got coffee and water out of them as part of the fare. I wasn’t moaning (apart from the £100 fare)
Seats
We love seats in Economy Class and Beyond. Heck, it’s why we’re at AIX each year.
Highlights for me this year were the Collins Aspire installedon the American Airlines Boeing 787-9P – a big upgrade on the Safran seat on that’s on the current fleet.
The Safran Z110i, which Malaysia Airlines installed, was the big surprise for me. When configured in a 30″ pitch, it’s comfortable. In an exit row with 36″ pitch,it’ss a perfect short-haul seat. A big tick in the box that they get is the installation of a USB-C Port.
In terms of long-haul seats, I finally got to try Stelia Aerospace’s Symphony seat in live-fire action aboard a Turkish Airlines Airbus A350. It’s impressive, but some of those shoulder-width fears I had did come out. Well, it beats Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER seats (and 2-3-2 in business class isn’t premium anymore, kiddo).
Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Business Class
Turkish Airlines A350-900 Business Class
As for others, the Collins Aerospace Pinnicale might have some interesting features, but airlines need to maintain their current fleets better; the Collins MiQ is still a good medium-haul business seat, and Recaro seats are still damn comfortable, be it in Premium Economy or down the back.
And the less said about those seats on Air Asia’s older A320neos… the better.
Food and Drink
We’re heading into forgettable territory this year. And that’s pretty much across all classes. The standout meals for me:
British Airways Club Europe – Beef Cheek is always a winner
Turkush Airlines long-haul – Lamb. It was damn good.
Oh, and a passable AirAsia Nasi Lemak.
That’s all that stood out this year
Connectivity
We’re seeing shifts as airlines change providers and embrace Low-Earth Orbit connectivity, but things in the air remain the same for now on the airlines I flew with, with mostly Ka/Ku-based connectivity. Ku has been good for coverage, but that bandwidth is filling up, whilst Ka has the capacity, but the cost to go with it.
We’re seeing airlines adapt their models too, with different options – but there’s a lot of “trading your data for internet access”.
That’s a calculation we’re all going to have to work on as next year plays out, and if it’s time to invest in a VPN when flying.
Loyalty
British Airways
At the end of 2025, I have a total of 517 Tier points. Well short of the 7,5000 I need for Silver next year.
In March, I’ll kiss BA Silver Goodbye forever. For now, it’s time to convert those Avios into where the real value is – Short Haul redemptions and a place to dump extra points when I ride Uber and spend on my credit card.
Turkish Airlines
The fight for Turkish Airlines Silver has begun, and I’m going to have to fight for some points, it seems. Or try for a status match. Let the games begin again.
SAS and AirAsia
I’ve dumped one set of miles in each. Let’s leave it at that, eh?
IHG
I’ve maintained a lot of points, and most of my higher value stays at IHG, with seven nights this year (2 in Chicago, 3 in Singapore, 2 in Malaysia). Thanks to IHG Ambassador (one of the few programmes I’ll happily pay for). I’ll maintain Platume Elite for a while, as well as make use of that two-for-one voucher.
Accor
Accor Group went back to being my “backup chain brand” this year, with six nights logged this year. (1 night in Bucharest, 1 night in Singapore and 4 nights in Hamburg)
Hyatt
Whilst I’ve logged eight nights in my usual Hyatt, Ive got zero points. The joy of a group rate that has features on it.
What does 2026 hold for Kevin?
I’m pursuing Star Alliance Silver and Gold in 2026 – as I’ve had enough of British Airways and its games. I might have a back-up oneworld membership too, but I imagine from April onwards, I will be focusing my flying on different airlines than I have since 2011.
In addition, I suspect next year for me will have more bumps than I would like (as I insinuated in my introduction), thus it could be a quiet year to start with, before any ramp-up of flying.
What’s that most dangerous of terms – “May you live in interesting times”.
I think that applies for 2026 in general at this point…
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
Leave a Reply