Ryanir new interiors. Photo: Ryanair.
Yes, the glory days of flying are long gone — but at least we’re slowly departing from rock bottom. Hey, even Ryanair has made serious strides when it comes to customer experience. While 2015 brought us plenty to get excited about in the aviation industry, more exciting changes are ahead in the year to come. We talked to seven airline execs to find out what enhancements we can look forward to in 2016, and here’s what they said:
1. Robin Kiely, Head of Communications of Rynair: We’ll next be focussing on the inflight experience. All of our cabin crew will be wearing smart new uniforms, while we’ll also be toning down the yellow designs of our interiors by introducing new bulkheads. And as we continue to take delivery of our 380 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft order, every new plane that arrives from January will be fitted with Boeing’s Sky Interiors, featuring slimline seats with more legroom, new overhead lockers providing more headroom, LED lighting and larger window reveals, which will further improve the Ryanair customer experience.
Photo: Southwest Airlines
2. Kevin Krone, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Southwest Airlines: In 2016, Southwest will serve as the launch customer for a new seat developed for the 737 MAX aircraft. The seat will launch in our fleet in mid-2016 on all newly delivered Southwest Airlines 737-800 aircraft. …Just a few of the cool, new features of the seat are: an adjustable headrest, the widest economy seat in the 737 market, a lower profile armrest, advanced lumbar support and a raised information pocket and elevated rear seat beam that together allow for additional space for personal devices and what Customers are asking for overall: more personal space.
Photo: Hawaiian Airlines
3. Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines: Hawaiian Airlines (has) enhanced service options in its A330 premium cabins, including the addition of 180-degree lie-flat seats. We expect our first newly outfitted aircraft to enter Hawaiian’s long-haul network in the second quarter of 2016, with lie-flat seats being installed in the remaining 22 A330 aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2016 through 2017. The 180-degree seats will use an innovative seat platform to fold into 76-inch beds, maximizing living space for travelers while providing options for both privacy and a shared flight experience.
Photo: airberlin
4. Roberto Cuesta, Vice President, The Americas Sales and Scheduled Services of airberlin: airberlin has many exciting new enhancements for next year, including new routes from Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Francisco nonstop to Dusseldorf, our main long-haul hub with convenient connections to all over Europe. In addition we are introducing a new seat concept in economy class called “XL seats” allowing an additional 6 inches of space for our passengers’ comfort. …Fashion designer Wolfgang Joop’s lifestyle label Wunderkind has recently joined airberlin on all long-haul flights with the new amenity kit for airberlin’s FullFlat Business Class creating an elegant, silver-grey leatherette bag containing lip balm, facial moisturizer and other essentials such as a sleeping mask, toothbrush and socks. Economy class passengers on overnight flights also receive complimentary eco class kits as well.
Photo: Virgin Atlantic
5. Chris Rossi, Senior Vice President, North America, Virgin Atlantic: Flyers can look forward to more of Boeing’s innovative 787 Dreamliners joining our fleet, a cutting edge product that delivers a more refreshing, roomy and sustainable flight. We’re also refurbishing our Washington Dulles Clubhouse, as well as the Upper Class cabins on our A330’s, and rolling out Wi-Fi across our entire fleet. And, of course, we’ll continue to form partnerships that we think make sense for our customers, such as this year’s collaboration with WeWork.
Photo: TAM/Airbus
6. Jerome Cadier, Chief Marketing Officer for LATAM Airlines Group: 2016 will be full of milestones as we launch and transition to our new unified brand, LATAM. We have new uniforms designed by Brazilian designer Pedro Lourenco debuting, a new catering menu highlighting the unique flavors of the region, the reveal of our new LATAM fleet livery, and we will operate the Americas’ first A350 XWB. The name LATAM creates a strong identity for the airlines that form the largest airline group in Latin America, and the region’s cultural identity and warmth are being incorporated into the fabric of every new product and experience.
7. John Jackson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Americas of Korean Air: The New Year will bring more comfort to our travelers with our 747-8i travel experience serving more American gateways. Our new 747-8i features our most private First Class Kosmo Suites that have personal valet closets, large video monitors and all the allure you’d expect from Korean Air’s premium inflight service. Meanwhile, our new Prestige Suites are configured so that window-seat travelers have direct access to the aisles — providing more comfort and privacy than ever before. These are being introduced into our Transpacific fleet. Korean Air’s low cost carrier, JinAir, is starting service to Hawaii this month and we’ll soon be offering a variety of ways to access the Islands.
Jessica Festa is the founder on the solo and offbeat travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and the online responsible tourism and culture magazine, Epicure & Culture. She’s constantly searching for local experiences beyond the guidebook. You can follow her travels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.