Air Travel Trends for 2025: The Airline and Airport Upgrades We're Most Excited For

22.11.2024 - 22:27 / cntraveler.com

Depending on your preferred airport or airline, the state of flying today can feel downright shabby. Aging terminals, clunky technology, and dingy aircraft can make the experience feel anything but glamorous. But there’s a bright spot on the horizon: In 2025, there will be plenty of innovation in air travel. At some airports, new procedures will ease passenger stress, while refreshed airline cabins will return a sense of elegance to long-haul flying.

Here are nine exciting air travel upgrades to look forward to next year, from brand new planes and ultra-spacious seats to a simplified security process for international layovers.

Although many details about Air France’s new first class cabin are still tantalizingly under wraps, there’s one important metric that has been made public. These seats will be the longest available on any commercial airline worldwide. Each fully private suite will stretch the length of five aircraft windows (!!) and incorporate three different seating zones: an upright seat, a chaise lounge, and a lie-flat bed. Because the suites will be so roomy, there will be only three of them in the entire cabin, adding to the exclusive mystique of this ultra-private new product. The suites are projected to debut sometime during the 2024-2025 winter season, and eventually be added to more aircraft than are outfitted with the current La Premiere cabins.

Next year, American is set to take a big leap forward in terms of passenger comfort when it adds its first-ever business class suites. Called Flagship Suites, the new product will feature upgrades like privacy doors, wireless charging, Bluetooth capability, multiple storage areas, and a seat with a chaise lounge mode (as well as a standard lie-flat bed option, too). The swanky suites will first launch on the carrier’s brand new Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 and Airbus A321XLR planes sometime next year. No official launch date has been announced yet due to ongoing aircraft delays. The new cabin will also eventually be added to the airline’s existing Boeing 777-300ER planes. With the new additions, American’s premium seating options on its long-haul fleet will increase by 45% over the course of 2025. Meaning there’s no better time than next year to start bidding on those upgrades.

US travelers heading to Zurich and Geneva next year will be treated to modern and comfortable new cabins with Swiss's latest planes. The carrier’s new cabin concept, called “Swiss Senses,” features refreshed seats in economy, premium economy, and first class—but it’s the business class suites that catch our eye. The lie-flat seats will feature temperature controls that offer personal heating and cooling options, plus wireless charging and some seats with privacy doors.