Articles tagged “passenger experience”

We’ve written a lot about airline concepts (seen more concepts than we’ve written about) and have a good feeling about the Life Style cabin. Airlines may not install the whole cabin as illustrated, but some of these concepts have what it takes to make from a blank-canvas model to living-color in the skies.

Premium passengers may be fewer in number, but they make up a big chunk of most airlines' revenue. Even when the economy keeps leisure travellers at home, business travellers still have to fly. And the affluent can fly whenever and wherever they please.

Safety regulations and the limited space available on aircraft make it challenging for airlines to improve at the same rate as airports in accommodating passengers with disabilities. But if some airlines have done it, so can others.

The traditional travel video programming isn't dead, but how, when, and where we see it has radically changed.

And at this juncture, Etihad CEO James Hogan says it's all "good." He's giving airline alliances grief, making strides in honing the passenger experience and obviously enjoying the gig despite the hassles of facing off against the bullying of some of the largest airlines in the world.

An emphasis on understated style allows for smart fares that will make these cabins really attractive to passengers in Northern Europe (and beyond).

What we should really be asking is: if these airlines can compete with suites, why doesn’t everybody else? The fault is in the dark shadows of cabin footprint strategies. That's a story for another day--very soon.

In-flight Internet at any speed is still a wonder to us.

That passengers are willing to pay for some conveniences that would otherwise be free--such as flight updates, in-seat power, and better baggage tracking--tells you everything you need to know about the state of affairs in today's air passenger experience. There are projects underway to solve these issues, and no one has talked about charging for them. We hope this doesn't give anyone funny ideas.

The growth of connectivity and entertainment in-flight is both encouraging and impressive. We still feel the birds-eye view from the window is the most thrilling and entertaining thing about being on a plane, but it's great to have something to do when the lights are off.