Skift Travel News Blog

Qatar Airways is introducing a range of new onboard menu items that have been sourced from organic farms in Qatar, in celebration of EXPO 2023 taking place in Doha.

Expo 2023 Doha, which is running through March 2024, celebrates the theme of ‘Green Desert, Better Environment,’ and aims to promote sustainable innovations.

As part of the new food and drink offering, passengers flying Business Class will now be greeted with bespoke beverages curated by food expert Ghanim Al Sulaiti – one of the founders of Qatar’s first entirely plant-based café – and will have access to an exclusive à la carte menu, featuring meals made from organic ingredients sourced from Safwa, a Qatari farm.

Continuing the horticultural theme, the inflight entertainment on Qatar Airways flights will also receive an update, providing passengers with the opportunity to watch a range of gardening-related shows, including Martha Knows Best, Homegrown, Vegetable Garden and more.

The new food and beverage offerings are available for passengers traveling from Doha until March 2024.

Air Canada has unveiled the first of its upgraded Airbus A321’s, featuring a host of new features that have been implemented to improve ‘customer comfort’.

The new aircraft, which has been redesigned from nose to tail, features a new cabin interior along with a range of new technologies, including a new in-flight entertainment system with bluetooth audio, free high-speed internet, larger overhead bins, upgraded seating, LED mood lighting and exterior cameras.

The new cabins will also see a reduced fuel consumption of more than 2.4 million litres per year when the work has been completed across the entire fleet, thanks to a weight reduction of approximately 240 kilograms. 

“We’re proud to welcome customers on board to experience the comfort, convenience, and connectivity of our latest cabins. These upgraded fleet interiors will align the A320s and A321s to the highly popular A220 experience, further strengthening our industry leading product offering,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital, and President of Aeroplan.

“Additionally, new features such as our inflight entertainment system streaming exterior aircraft camera feeds, Bluetooth connectivity, and free, fast internet connectivity will be extremely popular with travelers. We will continue advancing our product leadership by trialing more new in-flight experiences with this A321 and expanding those learnings to additional aircraft in our fleet.”  

Retrofitting on Air Canada’s remaining Airbus A321s and A320s will begin this fall and is slated to be completed by the end of 2025.

Panasonic Avionics has introduced a range of new 4K OLED monitors for First and Business Class cabins, with United having recently announced that they plan to install the system on select new long haul aircrafts beginning in 2025.

The new monitors, which form part of the Astrova In-flight entertainment (IFE) lineup, come in a choice of five sizes maxing out at 42 inches, and also feature spatial audio powered by Panasonic Avionics’ latest Bluetooth technology.

Passengers on aircraft equipped with the new system will also be provided with up to 100W of DC power at their seat through USB-C, along with LED accent lighting designed to enhance the passenger experience and optimize the cabin environment.

“Astrova is transforming the seat back into an easily configured, flexible and personalized digital channel that caters to the individual needs of each passenger, enabling airlines to engage with their customers in flight like never before,” said Andy Masson, vice president of product management at Panasonic Avionics.

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