AIRLINE TRENDS
Founder of market research agency
www.airlinetrends.com, Raymond Kollau, reveals the latest trends in healthy living on the move
Flying Fit Raymond Kollau reports on how airports and airlines aim to improve passenger wellbeing
THESE days many consumers take an interest in their health and wellness, driven by a desire to feel more energetic and balanced, and to prevent future illness. Frequent flyers, however, can find it tough to maintain a healthy lifestyle on the road, given their exposure to the re-circulated, dry air inside an the airline cabin, airline and restaurant meals, and jet lag. A busy travel itinerary also leaves little time for exercise. Meanwhile, passengers in Economy find themselves being cramped in a seat for hours, with limited options to move. Responding to passengers’ interest in a more healthy travel experience, airports and airlines have placed amenities that improve passenger wellbeing high on their agenda.
At the airport
Airports around the world are busy improving the quality of their food and beverage offerings, as well as offering travellers alternatives to passing the hours sitting at the gate. For example, a new deli concept at Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport, called Foodmarket, offers menus based on the ideas of Danish nutrition expert Louise Bruun. Customers can also access the nutritional facts of the food on offer by scanning QR codes using one of the iPads available in the deli. In the US, the American Heart Association has teamed up with several airports to create clearly marked walking circuits within the terminals. And San Francisco International last year became the first airport to open a dedicated yoga room. Thanks to the signs all over the airport of a person in a lotus position, the room is easy to find and is painted in tranquil blues to produce a feeling of serenity in the room. In Europe, passengers relaxing in Amsterdam Schiphol’s 'Airport Park' can recharge their mobile phones by pedalling one of three excercise bikes. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, meanwhile, has partnered with Philips to
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www.onboardhospitality.com
Above: a Philips Luminothérapie pod at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Below: A sign for the yoga room in San Francisco International
install three so-called 'luminotherapie pods' at the airport, which passengers can use free for 15 minutes to combat their jet lag using light.
Up in the air
Next-generation aircraft such as Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner improve passenger wellbeing with better air circulation, higher levels of humidity and by maintaining air pressure at the equivalent of an altitude of 6,000 feet in comparison to 8,000 feet on previous aircraft. Mood lighting makes it easier to sleep and helps reduce jet lag by syncing the lighting colours to the time of day in
the destination.
Furthermore, airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and AirAsia X have introduced so-called 'Snooze Zones' and 'Quiet Zones' where passengers can travel without being disturbed by kids or chatting passengers. And Air New Zealand has radically redesigned the Economy experience with its 'Sky Couch', which also features a clever 'slip-on' pillow design that eliminates the nuisance of pillows dropping down.
Besides better cabin and seat comfort, airlines around the world are also rolling out products and services that go beyond the generic advice to passengers to drink plenty of fluids, eat lightly, and take an occasional stroll along the aisle in order to reduce tiredness, stiffness and the likelihood of sluggish blood circulation.
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