Delta’s Tray Table Art & Air Canada’s New Livery: APEX Daily Experience Week in Review
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Here are the most-read stories from this week’s APEX Daily Experience newsletters. To receive breaking passenger experience industry news in your inbox on a daily basis, subscribe here.
[PHOTOS] Seatback Masterpieces: Delta Transforms Tray Tables Into Colorful Works of Art
THE DESIGNAIR | FEBRUARY 9, 2017
Two of Atlanta’s most iconic brands, Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, have teamed up for a project that has transformed seatback tray tables into eye-catching works of art. The companies worked with Wieden+Kennedy, a New York-based creative agency, to assemble a team of 12 artists from around the world. The end result is a sky-high gallery of one-of-a-kind works of art, printed on the tray tables inside one of Delta’s Boeing 767s. Each design reflects the airline’s global route network, with Amsterdam, Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, São Paulo, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo all represented. Delta will also display the artworks in Concourse A at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
[PHOTOS] Air Canada Gets a Brand-New Look With Redesigned Livery and Uniforms
AIRWAYS MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Air Canada unveiled its new livery and uniforms for customer-facing employees at three simultaneous events in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver yesterday. Designed in collaboration with branding agency Winkreative, the new livery coincides with the Canadian flag carrier’s 80th anniversary year and features a white upper fuselage and black tail, underbody and engine nacelles. Air Canada’s red maple leaf rondelle adorns the tail, the belly and the inner part of the nacelles. It will take the airline between three to four years to repaint its fleet of more than 300 aircraft. “All of our 787s and 777s will be done over the next 18 months,” said Ben Smith, president of Passenger Airlines for Air Canada.
Qatar Airways Lands in Auckland, Completing World’s Longest Nonstop Commercial Flight
THE GUARDIAN | FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Qatar Airways has launched the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight. Taking off from Doha and landing in Auckland, New Zealand, Flight QR920 was operated using a Boeing 777-200LR, and lasted 16 hours and 23 minutes. The aircraft crossed 10 time zones and 9,032 miles, and was welcomed with shower cannons upon arrival at Auckland Airport. New Zealand’s trade minister, Todd McClay, said the estimated economic impact of the new scheduled service would be more than $36.5 million per year. However, longer commercial flights have existed: Singapore Airlines’ 19-hour route from Singapore to Newark covered 9,506 miles and was operated using an Airbus A340-500, but was cut in 2013.
Panasonic Avionics Opens a New Hub in Dubai
TRADE ARABIA | FEBRUARY 8, 2017
Panasonic Avionics has officially opened a new facility at Dubai Airport Freezone. The 148,000-square-foot building will house 300 employees, serving more than 85 airlines located across the Middle East, central and southern Asia, and Africa. Panasonic’s new hub will focus on software development and testing, in-flight entertainment media integration, avionics device repairs and real-time fleet monitoring services. The facility will house iHub, the company’s regional innovation center, which will support airline customers by merging technology, innovation and design with their business needs, developing three-, five- and 10-year road maps.
Lufthansa to Put Business Class First on Boeing 777-9 Fleet
AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS TRAVELLER | FEBRUARY 7, 2017
Lufthansa will debut a new business-class seat on its Boeing 777-9 fleet scheduled for delivery in 2020, but will not be including a first-class cabin on the aircraft. According to Australian Business Traveller, the move indicates that “Lufthansa clearly has high hopes that its next-generation business-class seat will be good enough to fill the first-class gap on the Boeing 777-9.” The approach follows that of other airlines including Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Qatar Airways, United Airlines and Asiana, which are scaling back their first-class cabins in favor of improved business-class seats.
US President’s Message to Airline CEOs: “You’re Going to Be So Happy With Trump”
AIR TRANSPORT WORLD | FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Donald Trump told airline executives that he would repeal “burdensome” aviation industry regulations and lower corporate taxes. During an hour-long meeting at the White House, the US president told the executives from carriers, including United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Air, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, that he plans to modernize the country’s aviation and infrastructure. “We have an obsolete plane system, we have obsolete airports … Our airports used to be the best. Now they’re at the bottom of the rung,” he said. “You’re going to be so happy with Trump … I want to be able to do things for you.” Trump also criticized NextGen, the FAA’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernization program, saying it was over budget and would not produce a good ATC system.
