COOL THINGS COMING TO A PLANE NEAR YOU
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the things that airlines should have on-board but they don't. It struck me that perhaps I should also write about the things that airlines are actually planning to introduce despite IATA predicting that the aviation industry is going to lose billions this year. So, my five favourite airline innovations announced this year and planning to make their debut soon – presuming they don’t disappear into the ether along with profit predictions – are:
• Swiss air cushion flat bed seats. Having a flat bed seat is all very well but the problem is that the things that make a comfortable seat are generally not the same as those that make a comfortable bed. The new Swiss business class seat, set to be introduced next year, aims to change that. The innovation is the use of adjustable air cushions that can be pumped up hard or deflated to give a softer feel.
• OpenSkies concierge service. In an era when everything is going online, it’s a pleasure to see an airline planning to re-introduce personal service. Phone up its concierge team between 7am and 11pm and they’ll organised a walking tour of your destination, book a table in a popular restaurant or do a spot of translation over the phone.
• Delta’s Cozy Suite. In these cash-strapped times, an increasing number of people are choosing to fly economy and this is the area of the plane which traditionally sees the least innovation. Delta has come up with the revolutionary idea of staggering the seats at the back of the plane. You get the same number of seats and the same amount of legroom but there’s more privacy.
• In-flight email. I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to the ping of Microsoft Outlook that announces the arrival of a new message. This week JetBlue said it was to extend its in-flight email options beyond Yahoo and BlackBerry to include Microsoft Exchange (the servers used by many big companies…and me) as well as Gmail, Hotmail and AOL Mail. In-flight voice calls I don’t want. In-flight email, bring it on.
• Sheepskin blankets. The arrival of the Airbus A380 means
that aviation interiors experts have been allowed to let their
imaginations run wild. Qantas gets its first A380s in August and
says it plans to offer first class passengers
sheepskin blankets to sleep under. Oh and 43cm wide personal
screens