Kanga-logoâd Qantas is angling to be the most stylish airline in the sky. For the job, they’ve retained design icon Marc Newson.
Native son Newson dabbled with the idea by designing the upper class Skybed seats â complete with built-in shoebox and adapter-free power outlets – in 2003. So successful were they, that now the airline has effectively surrendered its entire image,from flatware to the color of the floors in its lounges to – yep – Newson.
Judging by the first examples of the mashup, the relationship is a happy one — the new First Class lounge at Sydney airport reinvents the concept. Itâs a modish, retro place â the departures are indicated on clackety old-fashioned boards instead of flashing computer screens â with swirling, Star Trekky oak dividers, square Poltrona Frau sofas and a leather-floored library area. Thereâs even a so-called âvertical gardenâ, with plants growing in the walls; it runs through the free, onsite spa, so every treatment room has one wall made entirely of greenery (best one to book for that gratis massage is room 3, the largest).
Next up, Newson will mastermind new business lounges, before his take on the Airbus A380 jumbo debuts next summer.