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Sleepbox lets passengers take a quick

nap at the airport

Inspired by Japans capsule hotels, several

airports around the world have opened small-sized resting rooms that can be rented for

several hours by passengers with long transit

times or delayed flights.

A new twist on this transit room concept is

the Sleepbox. Shaped like a giant, rounded

box measuring two metres long, 1.4 metres

wide and 2.3 metres high, the soundproof

pod can be positioned near boarding gates,

cutting down on hotel transit times even more

than ever.

A prototype of the Sleepbox is currently

on display, to give passengers an insightinto the service, at Moscows Sheremetyevo

International Airport. There are plans to

commercially operate several additional

Sleepboxes at the same airport in the very

near future.

The expected fee will be US$10-15 per hour,

and a concierge will take payments, give

keys, etc. In a later stage the Sleepboxes will

be fully self-serviced. A hostel furnished with

30 Sleepboxes will also open in the city of

Moscow in 2012.

Korean Air offers women-only

amenities

Airlines traditionally have been catering to

the stereotype male business traveller in his

forties. However, as a result of the growing

number of female passengers, especially in

premium classes, this is slowly changing.

For example, among the features of Korean

Airs recently expanded Prestige Lounge at

Incheon International airport is a dedicated

area for female travellers.

Says Korean Airs spokeswoman Mi HyunKim: These days more and more female

travellers are travelling around the world. In

order to respond to their increasing needs, we

have designed a special area fully dedicatedto female travellers, which includes a female

restroom, sleeping room and powder room.

Also, female travellers can taste quality food

and snacks and change diapers of their babies

nappies (diapers) without any distraction. In

the powder room, there is a dressing table

with a large mirror and a chair to help female

travellers to do their make-up. In the sleeping

room, there are two comfortable couch-type

chairs which can be reclined.

Korean Air is also among the few airlines to

dedicate a bathroom on its long haul aircraftfor use by female passengers only. Korean Airs

ladies-only lavatory is decorated with pink

coloured wallpaper, has a diaper board for

babies and provides extra cosmetics.

How airlines are using the Apple iPad

up in the air

The iPad, which began primarily as an

entertainment device when it was launched in

2010, is being used by airlines up in the air in

ways that Apple may never have imagined.

Passengers

Low-cost airlines Iceland Express and airBaltic

Coming to an airline near you...

Founder of market research agency www.airlinetrends.com, Raymond Kollau, reveals the

latest trends in the air in the first of his new regular features

In this issue Raymond looks at how airlines are adopting wireless technology, coming up with innovative

ancillary products and surprising passengers with their inflight catering. Could these trends catch on?

The Sleepbox prototype at Moscow Airport

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are currently the only airlines that rent out

iPads to passengers in-flight. Since November

2010, Iceland Express offers passengers the

option to rent an iPad for around 10 on

transatlantic flights between Reykjavik and

North America. AirBaltic, meanwhile, in June

2011 introduced the iPad 2 for rent on flights

longer than 2.5 hours. The fee for Economy

passengers is 9.00 per flight, while Business

passengers can use the device free of charge.After experiencing multiple delays,

Australian LCC Jetstar is about to offer the

iPad 2 for rent for around AU$10. Jetstar

reportedly will fit the iPads with a purpose-

built case that lets passengers hang the

device at eye level on aircraft with new

slimline seats. Qantas is currently trialling the

iPad on a Boeing 767-300 and also uses wi-fi

to stream content to the tablets from a central

server on the aircraft.

Cabin crewBritish Airways has equipped its cabin crew

with iPads to enable them to have prior

awareness of customer preferences so they

can offer a more personalised service. The iPad

lets BA crew identify where each customer

is seated, who they are travelling with,

their frequent flyer status, any special meal

requests, as well as customer service updates.

On a similar note, KLM has provided a group

of 50 senior pursers with iPads as part of a

six-month trial project. The airline says it

feels it is essential that cabin crew have easyaccess to the latest information in the air,

as personal contact with passengers on the

ground is becoming rarer due to the increased

deployment of self-service kiosks.

Pilots

Replacing the large amount of paper

documents that pilots carry with them, iPads

can improve fuel economy by cutting back on

the weight on board while also allowing for

documents to be updated more frequently.

In the USA, where the Federal AviationAdministation in March 2011 approved the

use of iPads as an electronic flight bag, Alaska

Airlines and United are currently providing all

their pilots with company-issued iPads.

Several more airlines, including American

Airlines, Delta, KLM, Qantas and South African

LCC 1Time, are currently testing the use of

iPads by their pilots.

Crowdsourcing new onboard dishes

Several airlines have been asking the general

public to come up with designs for aircraft

liveries, crew uniforms and frequent flyer

cards. Cathay Pacific recently applied the

crowdsourcing concept to its catering.

Earlier this year, Cathay Pacific USA asked

its Facebook fans to come up with an Asian-

inspired dessert, snap a photo of their

creation, and submit it online for voting. The

winner would have his or her dessert servedon the airlines flights out of North America

from August until October 2011. The winner

of Cathays Art of Dessert contest was an

Asian-inspired cheesecake from Ada Ngai

of Richmond, British Columbia. Says Cathay

Pacific, Adas recipe, while being delicious,

also demonstrates the essence of Cathay

Pacific with her mixture of Asian influenceand elegant presentation.

ipads on the flight deck; Korean Air responds to demand from female

travellers for dedicated areas; winning cheesecake in Cathay Pacifics Art of

DessertFacebook competition

Raymond Kollau

is the founder of

market research

agency www.

airlinetrends.com. Having been part of the leading

consumer trend firm trendwatching.com since its

inception, Raymond founded airlinetrends.com to

focus on trends and innovations in the global airline

industry. He has been quoted as an industry expert in

a range of media as diverse as CNN, MSNBC, and The

New York Times and is also known for his high-leveland colourful presentations.

www.airlinetrends.com