29 Leaps in Aviation Over the Past Year

Every year, in ways large and small, aviation takes leaps.

Some are leaps forward which make flying better and safer, others are leaps of faith which prove aviation is still willing to try something different.

Sometimes these stories get lost in the daily dose news about travel disruptions and passenger dissatisfaction.

In many ways, flying is still a stressful and often uncomfortable form of travel—but it is also the safest and fastest way to explore the world.

Aviation works every day at getting better. Sometimes it succeeds and other times, well..it takes a leap backwards.

In honour of leap-day, I thought we could review some of the many leaps aviation has taken over the past year.

Perhaps these will inspire and encourage more innovation and improvement in future.

Leaps in Aircraft

A350XWB Tail/Airbus

The A350 takes-off with Qatar Airways as its launch customer.

Boeing takes a leap of faith on one hour round the world flights, and travel to Mars.

SAS flies of Europe’s first A330-300 to windy city.

Airline Leaps

WestJet Plus Cabin on new long-haul fleet./WestJet

Ryanair dresses up its new softer persona with new interiors and new crew uniforms.

Icelandair tempts travellers to cross the pond with a short break in Iceland.

Finnair and Jetstar partner to better connect Asia-Pacific and Europe, through Singapore hub.

European airline association A4E takes off and grows quickly.

WestJet takes a leap of faith on long-haul LCC mixed fleet model.

Finnair takes leaps forward to fashion on Wi-Fi enabled in-flight retail.

SAS lets customers leap ahead on group reservations with social trip planning on mobile app.

KLM leaps into travel matchmaking app, pairing travellers with Dutch locals for layover tours

Satellite advances bring Europe closer to strong in-flight Wi-Fi connections.

Aircraft Interiors Design Leaps

SWISS New First Class Cabins/SWISS

Priestmangoode designs SWISS cabins lovely enough to live in year round.

Boeing’s new animated cabin lighting promises to make the skies even more gorgeous.

Air New Zealand introduces 3D printed aircraft interiors.

Airlines start taking Premium Economy seriously.

Stylish galleys leap to major production milestone.

Leaps in Aviation Sustainability

Salt Lake City Boeing Office K64512

Boeing and Canadian Aviation turn forestry waste to sustainable bio-jet fuel.

Airlines commit to Oslo Airport’s biofuel program.

easyJet and Cranfield College reveal a sustainable aircraft concept.

ICAO sets standard for CO2 Emissions.

Leaps in Aviation Safety

Screenshot from Icelandair cabin safety video/Icelandair.

FAA issues SAFO on carriage of Lithium batteries.

ICAO bans carriage of Lithium batteries on passenger aircraft.

FAA signs milestone collaborative agreement with CAAS to improve aviation safety processes in Asia.

FAA successfully tests Radio Frequency technology to stop “rogue” drones at airports.

FAA commits $11 million to address runway incursion issues.

Leaps at Airports

New shopping zone at Nice Côte d’Azur airport/SITA

At Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport, Beacon powered-apps boost airport retail.

As baggage tracking advances, Etihad Airways selects SITA BagJourney.

Copenhagen Airport leaps on new routes for growth.

These 29 are only a small sampling of leaps taken in aviation over the past year which I’ve written about on Flight Chic.

In fact, aviation has taken hundreds of leaps from 2015 through to today–and will no doubt take hundreds more from 2016 into 2017

Please share the aviation leaps you’d add to the list in the comments below.

The top picks of passenger experience leaps can be seen in Hamburg in the month of April during the Aircraft Interiors Expo.

During the same time, we recognise aviation’s biggest leaps of fancy with the Crystal Cabin Awards.