Runway Girl

Runway Girl A collective of aviation journalists from around the world delivering intelligence about the diverse airline passenger experience.

A collective of aviation journalists from around the world delivering intelligence about the diverse airline passenger experience.

02/12/2025

But whilst the disabled passenger experience is steadily improving, it remains largely inconsistent globally.

When it comes to fully flat business class seats and suites with direct aisle access for narrowbody aircraft, airlines’ ...
02/12/2025

When it comes to fully flat business class seats and suites with direct aisle access for narrowbody aircraft, airlines’ choices at this point are either inward-facing or outward-facing herringbones, since the layout of staggered seats on the narrowbody fuselage is less optimal than on widebodies.

In single-aisles, there is a greater amount of space between the aisle and the window in each row than there is on widebodies. For narrowbody herringbones, the concept is the same as on a widebody — tesselate passengers at an angle to the centreline — but the implementation is more complicated because of the angle at which the seats need to be positioned to take full space-optimised advantage of the wider aisle-to-window area.

The resulting problem arises when a tighter seat pitch becomes desirable — and it is indeed a rare case in which it does not — because of the inherent need to squeeze past the forward side of the seat. Regulators require specific minimum distances between the furthest forward point of the seat cushion in its taxi, takeoff and landing (TTOL) position and the wall in front here.

https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/02/magic-triangle-problem-narrowbody/

When bad weather strikes and travel plans quickly go sideways, I try to roll with the punches and make the best of a bad...
02/11/2025

When bad weather strikes and travel plans quickly go sideways, I try to roll with the punches and make the best of a bad situation. On a recent trip to Glasgow via Amsterdam with KLM, a misconnection from my originating flight in New York — and a seemingly never-ending dense fog — gave me the opportunity to sample KLM’s oldest and also newest European products.

Originally booked on KLM’s elderly Boeing 737-800 for Amsterdam-Glasgow, I had missed my flight and because of cancellations due to the fog I actually ended up flying to Edinburgh instead. Edinburgh just happens to be one of the handful of routes with a frequency operated by KLM’s newest fleet type, the Airbus A321neo.

https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/02/paxex-advancements-clear-on-newest-klm-fleet-type-the-a321neo/

Japan’s original and still busiest bullet train route is the Tokaido Shinkansen section of the original and still princi...
02/10/2025

Japan’s original and still busiest bullet train route is the Tokaido Shinkansen section of the original and still principal high-speed line west of Tokyo to Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, with seamless through-running onto the Sanyo Shinkansen to the island of Kyushu. The latest trains on the route are the N700S Series Shinkansen, and the name should give away that this is an evolutionary rather than revolutionary set.

After the 700 Series of the 1990s came the N700 Series of the mid-2000s and the N700A (for Advanced) in the early 2010s, and to all but the most observant of train fans they look very similar apart from the word “Supreme” on the outside of the train and a slight additional aerodynamic chine on the duckbill nose.

https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/02/n700s-for-supreme-the-evolution-of-the-latest-shinkansen/

At what point does a commercially scheduled flight transition to a sightseeing adventure? That’s the question a group of...
01/29/2025

At what point does a commercially scheduled flight transition to a sightseeing adventure? That’s the question a group of four , including myself, sought to answer on a gloomy January day in Scotland.

Scottish regional airline Loganair has the distinction of operating one of the world’s most unique flights. It’s likely the only service in the world to use a tidal beach as the runway. Barra Airport, on the island of Barra, was our destination for a quick day trip to check off another item on our bucket list.

Full report: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/loganair-barra/

Late last year we wrote about some of the issues that the new generation of high-walled maxi-suites in business class ra...
01/27/2025

Late last year we wrote about some of the issues that the new generation of high-walled maxi-suites in business class raise. That article spurred much discussion, including at last month’s RedCabin summit in Tokyo, where your author had several fascinating and wideranging chats with industry thinkers about how to solve the inherent problem of how to enable the service airlines craft so carefully, despite suite barriers that quite physically get in the way — because the answer can’t just be “ring the call bell”.

Indeed, one question your author has been asking recently is whether it’s time to split the flight attendant call bell into two separate bells: one an emergency call bell, and one a passenger service.

Think of the two-bell solution as the sort of difference between dialling 911 and 311/511 in the US, or 999 and 111/101 in the UK, where people use a separate non-emergency number for something for which they nonetheless need assistance.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/maxi-suite-service-solutions-two-bells-more-screens/

With its newly reopened Business and Senator Lounges in London Heathrow’s Terminal 2, updated ten years after the termin...
01/25/2025

With its newly reopened Business and Senator Lounges in London Heathrow’s Terminal 2, updated ten years after the terminal’s opening, Lufthansa is bringing a modern aesthetic focussing on natural elements, warmer tones and a more residential feel.

These lounges (really one large lounge split in two with a door in the middle) are in many ways the default Star Alliance options in Heathrow’s Star Alliance terminal, especially for passengers whose flights depart from the main terminal rather than the satellite (home to lounges from Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and United).

The updates that Lufthansa has made to these two lounge spaces appear to be largely cosmetic, but they’re certainly welcome. The initial 2014 design of the lounges was what your author mentally called the “2001: A Lufthansa Odyssey” aesthetic also seen in Frankfurt, Munich and other Lufthansa locations — large, often noisy undivided spaces, lit very starkly from overhead with many expanses of curved white glossy plastics, together with a lot of leather in a dated medium-brown colour.

Not all of this has been removed, especially in the Business Lounge, the less prestigious of the two, but it has been softened and warmed throughout. As a whole, Lufthansa has turned up the warmth, texture and natural dials substantially within the Senator Lounge, and slightly on the Business Lounge side.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/lufthansa-lhr-lounge-revamp/

Air New Zealand is a step closer to bringing SpaceX’s Ku-band Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite-supported Starlink infligh...
01/23/2025

Air New Zealand is a step closer to bringing SpaceX’s Ku-band Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite-supported Starlink inflight connectivity service to its ATR 72-600 turboprops after ATR revealed successful test flights have been carried out aboard the aircraft type, and the IFC solution has been certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The news comes as de Havilland is working to bring Starlink to its Q400 turboprops (possibly to support Air Canada, though this has neither been announced nor confirmed.) SpaceX’s dedicated Starlink Aviation web page suggests that supplemental type certification (STC) is expected to be secured for the Q400 by the second quarter 2025.

According to ATR, EASA-approved design organization PMV Engineering developed the necessary modifications for certifying the Starlink phased array antenna terminal for ATR turboprops, with the kit now available as a retrofit option on both the ATR 72-500 and –600 for all ATR operators through a STC.

“After successful test flights carried out on our prototype, we have achieved a major milestone in our mission to elevate the standards of regional air travel: Starlink high-speed Internet is now available on ATR 72 aircraft,” declared ATR senior vice president of engineering Daniel Cuchet in a post on LinkedIn.

He called the solution a “game-changer that will enhance the passenger experience and keep our customers connected, even at cruising altitudes.”

Air New Zealand is eager to bring free Wi-Fi to its passengers. It intends to test Starlink on both a jet and an ATR turboprop. If the trial is successful, it will equip its domestic fleet.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/starlink-takes-flight-on-atr-72-600-turboprop-as-anz-preps-for-trial/

MAYA, the compelling business class concept seat from Collins Aerospace — featuring a 45” curved ultra-wide OLED screen ...
01/22/2025

MAYA, the compelling business class concept seat from Collins Aerospace — featuring a 45” curved ultra-wide OLED screen from Panasonic Avionics — burst onto the scene at the 2024 Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, becoming one of the showstoppers of the event.

Now Panasonic reveals it is in “very advanced discussions” with several airlines to bring a version of the screen, dubbed Astrova Curve, on board aircraft.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/panasonic-astrova-curve/

United Airlines is taking traveler awareness to whole a new level, becoming the first carrier to add Control Tower mode ...
01/21/2025

United Airlines is taking traveler awareness to whole a new level, becoming the first carrier to add Control Tower mode to its onboard FlightPath3D moving map, initially aboard select aircraft with seatback IFE screens.

Representing a collaboration between flight tracking platform FlightAware and FlightPath3D, Control Tower mode gives passengers a detailed view of their aircraft positioning while the plane is on the ground — on top of the flight path view they’re already accustomed to watching on the moving map whilst in-flight.

The new feature updates dynamically to provide passengers with a clear visualization of their aircraft’s status relative to other aircraft, runways, terminal buildings and other airport features.

United expects to fully roll-out Control Tower to select embedded IFE-fitted aircraft by the end of the year. Aviation enthusiasts will no doubt be clamoring for more aircraft to be equiped in time. But Control Tower mode is also expected to help nervous flyers, with FlightPath3D noting that the information can greatly reduce anxiety around what’s happening on the ground during taxi.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/united-launches-control-tower-view-in-flightpath3d-map/

When passenger experience innovations on Japanese railways come to mind, the high-speed Shinkansen, the backbone of the ...
01/17/2025

When passenger experience innovations on Japanese railways come to mind, the high-speed Shinkansen, the backbone of the nation’s comprehensive train service, is usually first in line. But often some of the most thought-provoking comes from the most local of sources, as your author discovered on board the private Kintetsu Railway recently.

Kintetsu is a commuter and regional private railway that operates in central-west Japan, mostly in the region between Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto. It competes with JR Central and JR West, and in some cases with other private railways and subways in the region, and is well known for its impressive and award-winning premium express trains like the Shimakaze and Hinotori.

Both those trains are, of course, incredible experiences that bring a real luxury back to travel, but while travelling extensively on Kintetsu’s network in late 2024, the most striking innovation was on Kintetsu’s newest everyday workhorse commuter train, the 8A series.

These new 8A series electric multiple unit trains arrived in service in late 2024, and cut power consumption by nearly half compared with older trains — but the most innovative addition is the seating that the company calls the Yasashiba (Japanese for kindness) Space, translated to “Free Space” in its English signage.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/kintetsu-railways-kindness/

Catching some pretty light this morning at Vienna International Airport
01/14/2025

Catching some pretty light this morning at Vienna International Airport

Aerial firefighting specialists are looking for pilots. ICYMI: Neptune Aviation's Jennifer Draughon on why it's a great ...
01/09/2025

Aerial firefighting specialists are looking for pilots. ICYMI: Neptune Aviation's Jennifer Draughon on why it's a great career for the right person.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is promising passengers more of that “new plane smell” in 2025, with more new aircraft b...
01/07/2025

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is promising passengers more of that “new plane smell” in 2025, with more new aircraft being inducted into the fleet — including A321neos and 737 MAX twinjets — and interior upgrades of existing narrowbodies slated to pick up pace.

“By the end of 2025, more than 75% of our planes should have completely new interiors with bigger bins, seatback screens and Bluetooth connectivity in every seat,” Kirby revealed in a message to United’s MileagePlus loyalty members.

United’s new narrowbodies arrive factory-fit with United’s new ‘signature’ interior under its so-called United Next program. But Kirby’s stated timeline for equipping existing narrowbodies does represent an admitted move to the right.

When the massive refurbishment project was first announced in June 2021 amid the Covid pandemic — as the signature interior debuted on a new 737 MAX 8 — United said it planned to refit two thirds of its narrowbody fleet by 2023, with the balance completed by summer 2025.

Various pandemic- and post-pandemic supply chain constraints are believed to have played a role in the slower rollout.

Aviation enthusiasts pay close attention to the United Next program and share their findings on the United Fleet Website, which is not affiliated with the US major. Their numbers suggest that roughly 46.2% of the narrowbody fleet, representing about 338 aircraft, have been fitted with signature interiors in the more than 3.5 years since the program was announced.

With a plan to have new interiors on 75% of all planes by the end of 2025, per Kirby’s guidance, United is now clearly in a position to accelerate the Next equipage program.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/united-ramps-up-narrowbody-fleet-retrofit-with-signature-interior/

United Airlines says it is accelerating the timeline for bringing Starlink broadband inflight connectivity to its fleet ...
01/05/2025

United Airlines says it is accelerating the timeline for bringing Starlink broadband inflight connectivity to its fleet of more than 1,000 aircraft, starting with its Embraer E-175 twinjets.

“The airline now expects to begin testing Starlink next month with the first commercial flight anticipated to take off this spring on a United Embraer E-175 aircraft,” the US major says in a statement.

“United now plans to outfit its entire two-cabin regional fleet by the end of this year and have its first mainline Starlink-enabled plane in the air before the end of this year.”

Considering that United’s fleet is currently connected via multiple IFC vendors — including Panasonic Avionics, Viasat and Intelsat (formerly Gogo) — United’s equipage plan constitutes a major rip-and-replace program for the fleet, both for mainline and regional aircraft.

But other Starlink customers are also installing at a fast clip, including Qatar Airways, which by mid-December 2024 had fitted Starlink to 15 Boeing 777s; 14 of these were accomplished in a mere 55 days.

The Starlink package for larger air transport aircraft features at least two Starlink phased array antennas as part of a bandwidth play on the part of SpaceX.

As United vowed last fall, Wi-Fi access will be free for all MileagePlus frequent flyer members and “includes game-changing inflight entertainment experiences like streaming services, shopping, gaming and more”.

It has even set up a dedicated web page for people to sign up for MileagePlus using the promise of free Starlink-powered inflight Wi-Fi access as the incentive.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/united-accelerates-starlink-equipage-with-e175-first-in-line/

For most passengers, departing from or travelling via an airport with United States Customs and Border Protection Precle...
01/02/2025

For most passengers, departing from or travelling via an airport with United States Customs and Border Protection Preclearance — and thus conducting all passport, immigration and customs checks before getting on their flight to the US — is a net positive. Lines on arrival for non-citizens can be hours long, and checks are often invasive. Preclearance solves all that, with passengers using the time between checkin and boarding to take care of all the formalities.

Only fifteen airports in six countries — Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) — offer preclearance, with many non-US citizen travellers in particular choosing to connect to the US from Europe via Ireland or eastern Canada in order to speed up their arrivals process. Once processed by US officials, passengers must wait in a separate, sterile zone before boarding their aircraft.

Abu Dhabi is the Middle Eastern hub standout in the list, of course, since its facility opened a decade ago in 2014. After hometown carrier Etihad moved to the new Terminal A late in 2023, the US preclearance facility followed in October 2024.

The airline is now offering a new premium lounge for first class, business class, and frequent flyer cardholders as they wait the 90 minutes that the airline recommends they leave between heading to the preclearance zone and boarding.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/etihad-us-preclearance-lounge-abu-dhabi/

When Apple released AirTag to the market in 2021, it quickly became a “must have” travel item for anyone checking a bag....
01/02/2025

When Apple released AirTag to the market in 2021, it quickly became a “must have” travel item for anyone checking a bag.

But while passengers could see exactly where their AirTag-equipped bags were located, airlines had no official means of accessing that location data and in many reported cases refused to even acknowledge the information when presented with it.

The release of Apple’s iOS 18.2 brings with it the capability to share a private link with third parties, most notably including airlines.

As of 19 December 2024, Apple-focused blog 9to5Mac reports that 13 airlines have thus far enabled the functionality, with United Airlines being the first out of the gate. Others include Delta, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Turkish Airlines, Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Eurowings and Iberia.

Full story: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2025/01/airlines-get-onboard-with-apple-share-location-feature-for-airtag/

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On 25 April, Lufthansa hosted an exclusive Lufthansa Allegris Preview Press Event, where it welcomed journalists on board a brand new A350-900 fitted with the carrier's new Allegris longhaul cabins. Runway Girl Network covered the event as a guest of the airline. Here's what we learned! Music: Clean Success by Boomer, licensed through PremiumBeat by Shutterstock

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Runway Girl Network is a collective of aviation journalists from around the world delivering intelligence about the diverse airline passenger experience, known as #PaxEx on Twitter and Instagram. The news outlet also highlights the achievements of women in aviation, promotes equality, and celebrates culture, compassion and diversity.