Economy Class & Beyond

Re-examining the Stelia Aerospace Celeste seat – who’s buying it?

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A couple of years ago, I looked at a seat that was impressive in its space - the Stelia Aerospace Celeste seat. But no-one had touched it in terms of orders. And that has been a shame as it is an interesting premium seat. Until now it seems. Stelia Aerospace has refocused its plans, and have redesigned the Celeste seat it to be a regional business class seat for narrow … [Read more...]

British Airways and Iberia go for the slimline Recaro SL3510

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Last week at Aircraft Interiors Expo, a representative of Recaro revealed that they had landed an order from a big legacy airline for their SL3510. Sadly, they did not disclose it to me directly. Recaro SL3510 seats at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2016 - Image, Economy Class and Beyond In a press release, Recaro confirm that the next customers for the slimline SL3510 … [Read more...]

#ToFlyToMeh – Has British Airways Club Europe meal service sunk to new lows?

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Last week, I flew British Airways short-haul in Club Europe. And normally, you know what you're going to get on a short flight between the UK and Germany – something that is comical and small. However, there had been a change in the catering recently. And I think we need to step back a minute and work out what's going on with this airline - because I'm struggling to see any … [Read more...]

Airplane Art – Lufthansa Airbus A321 at Hamburg Airport

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It's Sunday again, so its time for some more airplane art. This week, a Lufthansa Airbus A321 is preparing to depart Hamburg Airport as evening closes in. This Airbus A321 has a bit of interesting history behind it. Whilst it is in standard Lufthansa house colours (and has been part of the Lufthansa fleet since 1998), this plane was previously in a retro livery to … [Read more...]

Merseyrail Strike – 8th April

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Today marks the running of the Grand National - a steeplechase horse race. And it's the perfect day for Rail and Maritime Trade Union to walk out on strike over driver only operated trains. As such services on Merseyrail - the local train provider in the Liverpool area - are on reduced timetables for most of the day. Mersyrail Class 507 Train at Liverpool Central - by … [Read more...]

Trying the new 11-Across Airbus A380 Seat with Geven

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As I reported on Tuesday, Airbus are still trying to push this 11 across concept aboard the A380 in an effort to get 23 extra seats. Well, today, I finally got around to looking at the seat. The seat manufacture is Geven - who produced the seat in 2015 for Airbus. This seat has been optimised for A380 and again for 2017. Sadly, in a move that could be … [Read more...]

Lift by Encore’s 787 Seat – Has someone finally made a good 787 seat?

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Lift by Encore made a splash last year at Aircraft Interiors Expo with the launch of their first seat - a Supplier Furnished Equipment-Hybrid product that could be fitted to the Boeing 737. Well, they've been busy in the past year - and as well as getting two customers for the seat, they also have come up with a new seat for the Boeing 787. Editor's note - as the seat is … [Read more...]

AirAsia signs for the Mirus Hawk LR seat

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Mirus have once again struck gold with Air Asia. Last year they won a contract to launch the Hawk SR seat with Air Asia. Well it seems Mirus are two for two with introduction of the Hawk LR. The first customer for the type is .... you've guessed it - Air Asia X AirAsia X will launch the seat on its Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The Mirus Hawk LR is an update of the … [Read more...]

A reason to sit in the middle seat on a Bombardier CSeries?

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The Bombardier CSeries has been flying around for a bit now, with launch customers Swiss International Airlines (CS100) and airBaltic (CS300) taking the planes on certain trips (and press trips which yours truly hasn't been invited on). Today, I visited the mock-up at Aircraft Interiors Expo, and made a few interesting discoveries whilst there. Perhaps the biggest … [Read more...]

AirAsia to deploy Inmarsat GX Aviation In-flight Connectivity

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Whilst I was in a media briefing, Inmarsat announced a new partnership with AirAsia (through its ROKKI subsidiary) to deploy it Global Express (GX) in-flight solution - providing broadband solutions to the seat. Installation of GX Aviation will commence during 2017, with the service to go live on AirAsia routes in 2018. The service will be installed A320 and A330 … [Read more...]