7 things changing with airline travel you’ll want to know about
In the world of airline travel, innovations are constant. Here are seven of the coolest things to happen in flight lately.
1. Tiger Air – After the company was forcibly shut down in 2011, Tiger Air was bought up by Virgin Australia. After making many improvements to the company, the airline now offers cheap flights connecting some of Australia’s major cities.
2. Boeing Space Bin – If you’ve ever travelled, you know there’s rarely enough over-head space on a packed flight. Rather than watch us grapple for space, Boeing has come to the passenger’s aid, instead offering the newly invented Boeing Space Bin. Currently equipped on their 737 planes, the space bin offers 50 per cent more room and a new lowered lip for packing ease.
3. Direct routes to South America –For Australians and New Zealanders, travelling to South America has been a notoriously difficult, indirect trip. Fortunately, Qantas and Air New Zealand heard our cries and are now offering direct flights, going from Sydney to Santiago and Auckland to Buenos Aires respectively.
4. Pod-life – Apparently made aware of the tiring reality of long layovers, airports around the world are now offering sleeping pods. The pods range in luxury level, with the Yotel in Heathrow and Gatwick, London, which offers a flat screen, bed, workspace and shower and Abu Dhabi’s more modest GoSleep pods, offering just a bed and a divider screen.
5. iPads for everyone – Step aside, chair-back monitors. There’s a new entertainment system in town. Airlines such as Hawaiian Airlines have begun providing IPad minis for their passengers’ entertainment. Some planes will even provide Wi-Fi, allowing flyers to watch movies and TV shows and send emails.
6. Qantas’ privacy business class seat – Fellow travellers, we’ve all been there: you’ve just settled in, prepared for a 16 hour nap (flight) to North America, only to realise with horror that you’ve been seated next to a talker. Avoid these, and all other disturbances with the new A330 seat. Fitted with a partition, a mattress and a “do not disturb” sign, you might even forget that you’re on a plane.
7. Etihad’s “The Residence” flight – If you read the last bit about updated business class seats and thought, “ugh, peasants” then fear not: Etihad airlines is now offering, “The Residence” a new class of travel which, as the name might imply, offers a bed, living room and shower. This level of elitism is only available on their two A380 planes and costs a ridiculous $29,000, so it’s slightly out of most of our budgets.