inflight amenities

United, American add to free entertainment menu

Now there are even more excuses not to talk to your seatmates on American Airlines and United Airlines flights.

Starting February 1, American Airlines passengers will have access to Apple Music songs, playlists and music videos on domestics flights equipped with Viasat satellite Wi-Fi.

To access the service, passengers will connect to the inflight Wi-Fi at no cost and then log in with their Apple Music subscription. Customers who don’t already have an Apple Music subscription will still be able to get access to the music by connecting to the Wi-Fi (at no cost) and then signing up for free access to the service for three months.

Not to be outdone in the “more free entertainment” department, United Airlines announced that, starting now, passengers have access to free live DIRECTV channels on the carrier’s 211 Boeing 737 aircraft equipped with seat back TV.

That’s in addition to all the movies and TV shows available on personal devices through the airline’s app.

Chill out with Cathay Pacific’s yoga/meditation space at Hong Kong Airport

Long flights can do a number on your body – and your mind.

Experts prescribe healthy eating and lots of moving around before, during and after you flight.

Now Cathay Pacific, already loved for its amenity-rich lounges at Hong Kong International Airport and elswhere, is offering passengers a tool for mind and body: a space for yoga and meditation in its Business Class lounge at The Pier.

The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga, designed in partnership with The Pure Group, is a 700 square-foot area divided into two zones – The Body Sanctuary, which is dedicated to yoga – and The Mind Sanctuary, which offers a space for meditation.

In the Body Sanctuary, travelers will find guided videos led by Pure Yoga teachers and a more secluded space for self-practice.

The space also offers an option for seated stretching, with chairs overlooking instructions on how to stretch different parts of the body. The exercises are designed to improve circulation, enhance joint mobility and relax the mind for a comfortable and restful journey.

In the Mind Sanctuary there are two types of meditation available:

Audio meditation has four cushioned pods equipped with noise-canceling headphones and iPads offering guided meditation sessions narrated by Pure Yoga’s expert teachers. Gazing meditation has comfortable cushions overlook graphics placed on the wall to facilitate Trataka yoga practice.

These practices help improve focus, memory and visualisation skills, as well as centering the mind in a state of awareness and attention.

Want to try it out? The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga is open to passengers with access to Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge at Hong Kong Airport; to Diamond, Gold and Silver Marco Polo Club members; and to Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon First and Business Class passengers.

More zen in flight – and on the ground

Once in the air, Cathay Pacific offers “Travel with Yoga,” a series of inflight videos designed to help passengers ease into their journeys with meditation and yoga.

On the ground, the airline also offers its Diamond and Gold Marco Polo Club members arriving in Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon complimentary one-day access to any Pure Fitness centre or a choice of any Pure Yoga class up to 12 times a year.

Air France campaign promotes economy experience

Air France (launching flights between Seattle and Paris this weekend) is rolling out a cute campaign focusing not on its business or first class amenities – but on what it gives to economy pass passengers.

And what other airlines don’t.

Noting that ‘budget’ carriers offer low prices but minimal amenities, the “Take a Chance or Fly Air France” campaign touts the fact that economy class passengers on Air France pay low prices but also get amenities such as in-flight entertainment, warm meals, and champagne.

To make the point, Air France has made up give-away boxes containing items that may be useful to passengers flying economy class on other airlines:

  • 5 foot scroll of Sudoku puzzles for flights without free entertainment
  • Scratch-and-sniff boeuf bourguignon meal patch for flights without free hot meals and;
  • Champagne gummies for flights without free champagne

The boxes will be given away via a vending machine at an event at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles on March 24 (with a few golden tickets good for two round-trip tickets on Air France in the mix), but the rest of us can enter to win a box of goodies by entering an online sweepstakes.

 

Hawaiian Airlines: why all the gum?

On Monday, journalists gathered at Hawaiian Airlines’ Honolulu headquarters for the carrier’s first global media day and the announcement that the airline is adding lie-flat seats to the premium cabins on its fleet of A330 aircraft.

hawaiian airline seats

During the event, refreshments were laid out for the attendees. And in with the coffee, water, fruit and trail mix were boxes filled with packs of Doublemint gum.

The gum seemed like an odd offering until it was explained that last November, when Hawaiian Airlines was celebrating the 85th anniversary of interisland passenger service, Doublemint gum was part of the festivities.

The reason: back in 1929, the first inflight amenity offered to passengers was a stick of Wrigley’s gum to help relieve ear pressure.

Hawaiian Airlines revived that tradition during its anniversary day celebration on November 11, 2015 by once again handing out Wrigley’s Doublemint gum to passengers (along with some other goodies) to the more than 12,000 passengers taking neighbor island flights that day.

Hawaiian gum offer

Hawaiian Airlines gum box

But not all the gum Wrigley’s sent to Hawaiian Airlines for the celebration was used.

Not by a longshot. Which is why Doublemint gum is now there on the refreshment table at a lot of Hawaiian Airlines events.

hawaiian airlines gumbox (3)