Why It’s a Good Time to Fly to Asia

by Josh Lew on

With the present conditions offering little reason for airline execs to break out the expensive cognac to toast to their success, some airlines (at least those who aren’t fearing for their lives) are looking to the future. The likes of Cathay Pacific and Finnair are developing routes to Asia that they hope will become lucrative once the world economy starts playing nice. These airlines are starting early, trying to have their brands in place before the competition. Some are offering added amenities or advertising new, faster routes. Here are some of the players:

1. Finnair claims it has the shortest route between New York and New Delhi, via its hub in Helsinki.
2. Cathay Pacific, already one of the top names in Asia, is trying to compete by adding flights to India via its Hong Kong base.
3. Northwest Airlines is trying to further develop its long running service to Japan.
4. Even American Airlines announced a 12% increase in passengers on its routes to Japan and China.
5. Singapore Airlines launched an all business class service between New York and Singapore.
6. New airlines are also competing for this growing market. India-based Jet Airways is developing a route between San Francisco and Mumbai that has become favorite of business travelers.

Via IHT

Indian Airline Billboard Wars Continue… Maybe.

by Justin Glow on

Remember when I posted about the billboard wars between Indian airlines Kingfisher and Jet Airways? Jet Airways had erected a billboard saying “We’ve changed” and Kingfisher responded with a billboard of their own directly above the Jet Airways message saying “We made you change.”

The story isn’t over — a third Indian airlines, GoAir, responded to both of them with a third billboard saying, “We’ve not changed. We’re still the smartest way to fly.”

This is getting a bit ridiculous. With roughly 18 airlines in India, the billboards might reach the moon by the time the battle is over. I do have a sneaking suspicion that the GoAir billboard is Photoshopped, though. If you look at the original article I wrote, the bottom billboard doesn’t have “DesignersMind.com Creative Showcase” written on it like in the photo above. Someone’s been messing around.

What do you think? Can anyone verify that this third billboard actually exists? [via]

Previously: Kingfisher to Jet Airways: We Changed You!

Kingfisher to Jet Airways: We Changed You!!

by Justin Glow on

This is cool.

Kingfisher, a lovely Indian beer and airline, took note of a competing airline’s billboard and responded to it with their own. “We’ve changed,” the Jet Airways billboard says. Kingfisher responds with a billboard of their own reading, “We made them change!!” And a guy in a green shirt on another billboard looks away as if nothing happened. [via]

Jet Airways Offers (Relatively) Cheap Luxury Cabin

by Justin Glow on

India-based airline Jet Airways has introduced a 26-square-foot cabin on its London to Mumbai flight which costs £1200 less than a first-class British Airways ticket. So let’s see: £5000+ for first-class, or £4000 for my own private cabin? That’s an easy one.

As you can see from the photo above, the dual-seat configuration folds down to make a bed, and the 23″ flat TV screen offers over 200 hours of the latest movies. Well, you can see the TV (upper left-hand corner), but you’ll have to trust me on the 200 hours deal, as it’s tough to capture that feature in a photo. Other amenities include a “personal hanging wardrobe,” and “office facilities for working.” More pictures after the jump. [Via Luxist]