FOCUS ON AIRLINE TRENDS
Founder of market research agency
www.airlinetrends.com, Raymond Kollau, reveals the latest trends in the air in his regular OnBoard Hospitality feature
Sweet Dreams How airlines are coming up with new services that help passengers get a good night of sleep
ONE of the effects of stricter corporate travel policies is that companies are assessing the need for their employees to travel in Business on long-haul flights on a more functional basis, that is: The ability for their employees to have a good night’s sleep onboard, in order to arrive well-rested and make the most of the working day upon arrival. A growing number of companies let their employees travel in Economy or Premium Economy during daytime flights and in Business at night. Meanwhile, fully-flat beds have become
the industry standard in Business. Following airlines from Asia-Pacific and the Gulf Region, almost all major carriers from North America and Europe have rolled out programmes to upgrade their Business seats to a flat bed, allowing passengers to stretch out and sleep in a more comfortable way. With the ‘hardware’ now in place, airlines
are now looking for ways to differentiate the passenger experience by coming up with additional services to ensure that passengers have a good night’s sleep.
Snooze Zone, Whisper Coach On its Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340 aircraft, Virgin Atlantic has created a so-called ‘Snooze Zone’, where Business passengers can sleep uninterrupted in a secluded and quiet area of the cabin (mostly the first four to five rows of the airline’s Upper Class cabin). The snooze service is available on evening flights departing from New York JFK, Newark, Boston, Washington to London, as well as flights from London to Dubai. Passengers opting for the Snooze Zone can enjoy an evening meal at the lounge before they board and head straight for the snooze zone and sleep undisturbed by other passengers. British Airways offers a similar service called ‘Sleeper Service’, although it does not offer a separate quiet area onboard its aircraft.
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www.onboardhospitality.com Several airlines also give passengers who
like to sleep longer on flights that arrive in the morning an Express Breakfast option which they can enjoy right up until landing. Scandinavian Airlines provides Business passengers with a ‘Grab & Go’ breakfast bag, including a cup of coffee, when exiting their flight. And Virgin Atlantic crew has learned to talk
to passengers in a hush during night flights. One of its service training instructors has taken on the role of ‘whisper coach’ to teach staff how to speak to passengers at between 20 and 30 decibels – around half that of a normal spoken conversation on the ground.
Mood lighting, luminotherapy, aromatherapy Mood lighting is said to make it easier to sleep as well as make airplane food more attractive. It also helps reduce jet lag by syncing the lighting colours to the time of the destination.
Lufthansa’s new two-seat First Class product
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