Airline News

Even as it grows and evolves, the aerotropolis at Changi Airport remains a critical case study on getting the airport experience right.

Spend-based airline loyalty programs may sound more fair in theory than using miles flown but PwC's research show it's basically 50/50 in terms of which passengers benefit and which ones lose out.

American isn't going as far as Delta or United did, but its changes are in line with the industry shift to measuring loyalty in dollars spent, not miles flown.

Passengers everywhere are hard to please, but because Asian passengers are willing to reward airlines by paying for passenger experience upgrades then they're more likely to get what they want.

Elite SkyMiles members are about to lose a whole lot of premium economy privileges.

These are the aviation travel trends we were talking about this week.

It's not all about price. Customer service and reputation matters a lot when airfares are comparable and passengers don't soon forget bad experiences.

Wi-Fi suppliers are, quite literally, in a space race to win the Wi-Fi market. New satellites in orbit and due to launch will allocate greater bandwidth, and deliver higher speeds, to meet the needs of airlines and their customers alike. While there is still a way to go before in-flight Wi-Fi is ubiquitous, we’re getting closer every day.

By avoiding abrupt changes, and ensuring a consistent design, at all customer touch-points, Cathay Pacific demonstrates the inherent value and long-life of a carefully curated brand. It is that consistency that makes Cathay's at-home-on-the-road passenger experience authentic.

We're still skeptical that large file downloads, Netflix-watching and seeing Grandma's face at 35,000 feet is a near-term reality, but speeds will undoubtedly get gradually faster as more satellites are launched for passengers' delight.