airline amenities

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

Health, Uncategorized, , , ,

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.

Qantas surveying passengers about sleeping bunks and exercise zones

Flights, , , ,

You may remember the recent buzz about the design Airbus floated for putting sleeping berths in the cargo hold of an airplane as a way for economy class passengers to get some real rest during a long haul flight.

Qantas, which has challenged both Airbus and Boeing to build a plane it can use for ultra-long haul  flights from the east coast of Australia to London and New York, likes that idea and has it on a list of ‘blue sky’ features included in a survey the airline is sending out to about 12,000 of its frequent flyers.

The survey is part of the airline’s “Project Sunrise” research into ultra-long haul flying and on the Qantas list are such “Would you like?” features as:

  • A stretch/exercise zone on board
  • A communal bar, dining or self-service café zone
  • A work & study section including work stations
  • “Change and refresh” stations
  • A creche

A creche? To me that describes Christmas nativity scenes, which seemed like an odd item to include on a long-haul flight. But when I looked up that word I discovered creche is also a British word for a nursery, or day care center.

And on a long-haul flight – and even many short ones – I think most any traveler would vote for that!

 

 

Passenger-friendly innovations in skies now – and on the horizon

Airlines, Bathrooms, Contests, Seating, ,

(Airbus_A320 Family Airspace interior. Courtesy Airbus)

For CNBC this week, I put together some of the most passenger-friendly, or unusual, finalists vying for this year’s Crystal Cabin Awards, which are set to be announced April 10 and often described as “the Oscars of the aviation industry.”

One of the more unusual and intriuging ideas on the list is something called a ‘Durinal,’ by Zodia Aerospace.

 

 

You know how it is: after meals and just before landing, bathroom lines get long and the lav-to-passenger ratio in the economy cabin on airplanes just seems wrong. Worse, when lavs get busy, there’s that wet floor issue that comes courtesy of the male ‘splash zone.’

The Durinal is designed to solve both problems by replacing one regular lavatory with two urinals. Durinal creator Zodiac Aerospace says installing the toilets on planes can improve lavatory “cycle time” and cut down on male use of the conventional toilets, “Thus leaving them more hygienic for the ladies.”

 

 

 

On flights that aren’t full, Zodiac Aerospace’s new Eco Zlounge concept makes it possible for passengers to stretch out with a mechanism that allows the cushion part of the seat in front of a passenger to fold down, creating more leg room.

No doubt the extra space will come with an extra cost, but on long flights passengers may be willing to pay that cost.

See more finalists in my CNBC story, here.

Alaska Airlines expands its Wine Flies Free program

Free Stuff, ,

Here’s good news for wine lovers: Alaska Airlines has expanded its popular Wine Flies Free program, which allows the carrier’s Mileage Plan members to check a case of wine – 12 bottles – for free.

The program includes domestic flights on Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and Skywest flights from the cities listed below, but does not include Virgin America flights until May 2018.

In Washington: Bellingham, Pasco, Pullman, Seattle, Spokane, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Yakima

In Oregon:  Eugene, Medford, Portland, and Redmond

In Idaho: Boise and Lewiston

And in California: Burbank, Fresno, Los Angeles, Monterey, Oakland, Ontario, Orange County, Palm Springs, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma

In addition to allowing passengers to check a case of wine for free, Alaska’s Wine Flies Free program has another valuable perk: the wine-tasting fee charged by many wineries in Oregon and Washington will be waived for those who show their Alaska Airlines boarding pass.

Details on the Oregon Wines Fly Free are here. 

In Washington wine country, not only do many wineries offer free tastings to Alaska Airlines customers who show their boarding passes, under the Wine Flies Free program Hertz rental car will waive the drop off fee, so travelers can pick up a car in one city, travel through wine country tasting and buying wine, and then drop the car off in another city. Details are here.

So drink up!

 

 

Free chat + Free movies on Alaska Airlines

Movies, ,

Alaska is one of the airlines offering  travel waivers for passengers affected by winter weather this week, which means you may have to wait to try out the airlines’ newest perks:

Free use of iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger on Gogo-equipped flights.

The option is offered in a beta version right now and should be fully functional by January 24th, the airline promises.

Also free (through March 31, 2017): access  – on your devices – to the all the entertainment offered to Alaska Airlines passengers during flight, including Hollywood movies and popular TV shows.

The airline’s new Premium Class service also debut this week on some routes, offering passengers who have purchased this perk extra legroom, early boarding, complimentary snacks and alcoholic beverages. About 40 percent of Alaska’s fleet has been retrofitted with the new premium class section seating so far and the airline promises that 90 of the fleet will offer this option by the end of 2017.