Major airline launches new onboard suites that ‘feel like a hotel room' with double beds and private wardrobes
REST UP Major airline launches new onboard suites that 'feel like a hotel room' with double beds and private wardrobes
AN airline in Europe has revealed some very swanky new seats onboard - which feel like your own private hotel room.
Switzerland based Swiss International Airlines have shown off their new seat designs being rolled out across all of the classes.
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New hotel-like suites have been revealed by Swiss Airlines
Credit: Swiss International Air Lines Ltd
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The suits have fold out double beds
Credit: Swiss International Air Lines Ltd
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The 1.8m walls have full privacy
Credit: Swiss International Air Lines Ltd
Called the Swiss Senses, everything from economy to first is being upgraded in their "biggest product investment in the company's history".
The new Swiss First suites will be a fully enclosed pod with 1.8m walls and sliding doors for privacy.
The airline described them as "your own private retreat above the clouds".
Passengers will get a seat that turns into a double bed, as well as a personal wardrobe.
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Wireless charging, adjustable seat temperatures and even an upgraded washroom for first class passengers is part of the upgrade.
Pyjamas, amenity kits and speciality created cocktails are all available to passengers as well.
And not only does the inflight entertainment screen wrap around the width of the seat, but travellers can hook up their own headphones to the monitor.
The new Swiss Business seats will also have a sliding door and lie-flat beds, along with wireless charging and seat temperature options.
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Each seat will also have access to the aisle, so no clambering over your neighbour.
And passengers will get bedding and amenity kits as well.
'Jet of the future' dubbed The Phantom boasts see-through cabin, fuel-slashing AI design…& could take to skies VERY soon
Both premium economy and economy are also being revamped.
The premium economy cabin will be redesigned and while the seats remain the same, new in-ear headphones, bedding and menu options are being introduced.
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And for economy passengers there will be more space with extra legroom, as well as similar new dining options and headphones.
All passengers could even see the effects of jet lag be lessened.
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Business class seats are getting an upgrade too
Credit: Swiss International Air Lines Ltd
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Anti-jet lag lights will be in all of the cabins
Credit: Swiss International Air Lines Ltd
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The cabin will use 'Human Centric Lighting' to simulate a normal day time routine, helping your biological rhythm.
The new cabins will be rolled out on European routes in October on the Airbus A350-900s.
The full fleet including the A330-300 and the Boring 777-300ER will get the seat rollout at a later date.
Swiss chief commercial officer Heike Birlenbach: "Our new seats are the centrepiece of our new aircraft cabins."
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In the mean time, we got the first look at Cathay Pacific's new business class suites.
And here are some of our other airline reviews:
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Times
22 minutes ago
- Times
An expert guide to a great (and affordable) late-summer break in Croatia
Here's a tip you can have free: late summer to early autumn is when Croatia is at its best. Temperatures ease, resorts relax and the sea is its warmest. That's not an observation based solely on my 20 years of visiting. Last month the European Travel Commission noted that about nine per cent of European travellers had switched to holidaying in so-called shoulder seasons. Why? Friendly temperatures and prices reduced by half from peak season. Ah yes, the prices. You can spend big on Croatia nowadays, dropping more than a grand a night on premium stays during high season. The question is — whisper it — do you need to? Sure, luxury hotels feel like a treat, a proper indulgence, but if there's one thing I've learnt about Croatia it's that a memorable stay can be found anywhere. You won't find a place with a warmer welcome, and the seas are some of the cleanest in Europe. That's why we've compiled this list of hotels for September and October breaks. It includes a few expensive stays for a splurge, but most are priced for affordable holidays, especially if you look beyond poster destinations such as Dubrovnik and Split. Given our term-time dates, we've skipped family hotels for adult stays: wellness specialists in quiet areas, such as Maslina Resort on Hvar and rural wine hotels including San Rocco in Istria; chic city stays in Dalmatia and rustic bolt holes on island backwaters. All are places to remember how to relax, to discover what Croatians call pomalo, which translates roughly as living free from schedules. You'll know it better as the holiday jackpot. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Here's a stay in the north Adriatic, and the Kvarner Gulf mountains that most visitors bypass. Restored by a German-Croat family, its farmhouse has expanded organically into an eight-room bohemian village. It's a stay of simple rustic-chic rooms with pea-green shutters, stone the colour of shortbread and original beams (the best have balconies); a bolt hole for reading books and dips in a small pool, and for good organic vegetarian food eaten at a communal table. In short, it is a stay of heart and soul. It's not even remote — the beach at Crikvenica is four miles away and Rijeka is a 30-minute B&B doubles from £87 ( Fly to Rijeka It's a sign of where Cres may be heading that Marriott chose this rustic island for Croatia's first Autograph Collection hotel, which opened in March. It's quite a shift for Cres, a nicely scruffy, Italianate medieval town where you'll eat gelati as small fishing boats chug from the harbour at dusk, yet ten minutes' walk away there's this slick wellness hotel, with sunloungers before the sea and a chef who's shooting for Michelin stars in nine-course tasting menus. The marketing people are calling Cres 'Croatia's often forgotten island'. I'd come soon if I were B&B doubles from £212 ( Fly to Rijeka Before you read this, check the price below. Astonishing isn't it? That's not the reason the Romans called Rab 'Happy Island' (Felix Arba), nor is it why Edward VIII, holidaying here with Wallis Simpson in 1936, felt so, um, joyful he went skinny-dipping. It'll boost your mood too. Rab, in north Croatia, is a love letter to the art of gentle holidaymaking: slow days in a villagey medieval capital, long lunches, 22 sand beaches. The Arbiana was around in Edward's time, and while its classic decor won't make the heart beat faster, it's a charming stay with the sea just Seven nights' B&B from £1,070pp, including flights and car hire ( The Alhambra's Cube Spa was named world's best at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards last year. In 2023 Alfred Keller, its Michelin-starred restaurant, took the top prize at the World Culinary Awards as Europe's best fine-dining hotel restaurant. Not bad for a five-star on a Croatian island few Brits have heard of. Modern Mediterranean sums up the decor in a hotel created from two art nouveau villas integrated by a glass-skinned block. Refined describes the atmosphere in a secluded pine-cloaked bay. Come to indulge between spa and sunloungers on the bay. B&B doubles from £352 ( Fly to Rijeka I chose a backstreet one-star rather than paying over the odds for an out-of-town mega-resort when I first visited Zadar two decades ago. Since then a new breed of central independent boutique stays has helped to raise the profile of Dalmatia's historic third city. This one's as central as it gets, scattering 16 rooms across an early 20th-century house, a 19th-century former military building and a medieval monastery. Such is Zadar's jumble. All are different but united in being elegant, modern and arty without showing off. Delightful breakfasts in a verdant courtyard B&B doubles from £122 ( Fly to Zadar Croatia's first Hyatt Regency arrived in May not in Dubrovnik, Split or Rijeka, but in Zadar. The five-star was installed in the former distillery of Maraska cherry liqueur — Alfred Hitchcock was a fan, which explains Alfred's Bar, with its sea views. Elsewhere the spa hotel has a Mad Men glamour to its streamlined lines. Befitting the brand, it's a work-and-play address with plenty of marble and wood in the 133 rooms but a fine pool on a vast waterside terrace that begs for cocktails. The old town is ten minutes' walk away, or two minutes by barkajoli (rowing boat) B&B doubles from £196 ( Fly to Zadar Exclusivity on Croatia's glossiest island doesn't come cheap. Ultimately it's up to you whether the four luxury suites here on Palmizana island are worth it. They're rather like an Adriatic take on a New Mexico casita: white cotton sheets and terracotta-coloured walls; a glass wall that slides open to the terrace; a hammock between palms and a plunge pool above the sea. But know this: you're on a tiny car-free island ten minutes from Hvar Town by taxi boat. When diners leave, you and the yachties have the bay to yourself. Think Robinson Crusoe in five-star style and you're B&B doubles from £757 ( Fly to Split Don't worry about the mention of 'resort' in the title. There are no tots whooping down waterslides at this 50-room Relais & Châteaux member — no surprise given that this spa hotel bills itself as 'Croatia's first mindful luxury property'. Rather, 'resort' means all that the thinking traveller requires for a sophisticated break near quiet Stari Grad harbour: chic understated decor, Michelin-rated dining in the Terra restaurant, sunloungers by the pool and sunset beats at the A-Bay beach bar. This month it launched a smart 13m speedboat for private excursions or celeb-style transfers from Split airport. Details B&B doubles from £437 ( Fly to Split I was sceptical when this opened in 2021. It looks like the lair of a Bond villain, and you'll need a similar bank balance to afford it. What were eight ultra-luxury suites doing carved into the hillside of an island backwater of the Zadar archipelago? The answer is Croatian starchitect Nikola Basic's concept of a 'landlocked yacht', where glass-fronted rooms frame views of seascapes (and olive groves, but you get the point). Like an exclusive cruise ship, it's escapism with an infinity pool, gourmet restaurant and spa. Unlike a cruise ship, you can leave whenever you want B&B doubles from £666 ( Fly to Zadar • 17 of the best cruises in Croatia The thing you need to ask about Dubrovnik is whether you genuinely want to be in the old town. Magical first thing, it's chocka by 10am in summer. Sometimes it's better to find a nice resort out of the centre offering everything you need and day trip in. 'Everything' at this 371-room five-star, refurbished in 2020, means three restaurants and three bars, a 2,000 sq m spa, a pool bigger than Dubrovnik's main square, knock-out views, and sea activities. It's 20 minutes' walk from the old town and — the clincher — it costs a quarter of the price of most central Five nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,391pp • Rixos Premium Dubrovnik hotel review: a swish five-star with fabulous views• More hotels in Dubrovnik We all want different things from hotels. For some the location comes first. For others it's style or good wellness facilities. Which brings me to this stay. The century-old five-star of Dalmatia's biggest city is no longer the most luxurious in town, nor the chicest. So why am I a fan? Well, they've spruced up the art deco and added a spa (rooms remain small, mind; corner ones are best). Breakfasts served by lovely staff are eaten poolside. Bacvice beach is moments away. And although a ten-minute walk from the old town, it's always an oasis of B&B doubles from £235 ( Fly to Split There are many cool stays in Croatia's best city. This isn't one of them, although it's one of the most memorable. A former Venetian noble's residence turned into a heritage hotel, it's a lucky dip of Renaissance beams and gothic fireplaces. The hum of laughter and conversation drifts in from the most handsome square in the old town — the corner room Vid Morpurgo has a balcony over the action. Caveats? The rooms are small by modern standards, and the decor is more homely than high end. And there's no parking. You won't find a nicer stay in the action of old Split, B&B doubles from £318 ( Fly to Split • Best luxury villas in Croatia You want Dubrovnik. You also want bygone Croatia. This is the answer. Part of the Adriatic Luxury Hotels group, this once dowdy three-star on a pretty harbour emerged from a complete refurbishment in 2022 to become a bolt hole for the superyacht crowd. The 21-room hotel in a historic house pulls off the neat trick of French elegance without appearing to try too hard. Don't be fooled — such effortless style takes a lot of work. Breakfast on the harbour terrace among potted orange and lemon trees is a joy. Dubrovnik is accessible by regular water taxis. Don't bet on making B&B doubles from £379 ( Fly to Dubrovnik Lesic Dimitri Palace is the luxury choice in dreamlike Korcula old town, but Tara's Lodge is a better bet for beach holidays. Think of this small modern block with 17 minimalist rooms as a four-star beach club. You'll drink morning coffee on a balcony — sea views are worth the extra £30 — then breakfast served by friendly staff. Days will pass between the private beach and Mediterranean cuisine in Mimi's Bistro. What more do you need? Possibly a car. Though Korcula island is accessible by ferry from Split or Dubrovnik, the old town is two miles from the B&B doubles from £118 ( Fly to Dubrovnik All set for an end-of-summer splurge? Then to Brac island we go. It's Croatia's have-it-all destination: gentle harbours with waterside restaurants, day trips to Croatia's most famous beach Zlatni Rat, hourly ferries to Split (Dalmatia's sexiest city) until midnight. The splurge is this adult-only five-star at Sutivan. Where other hotels are greige, it's a stay of bold, Italianate glamour with first-rate spa facilities. A place for lazy days with books beside a beautiful pool or on 280 sq m of private beach. Boats and mini-cabriolets are available to rent. Bikes are free. Luxury B&B doubles from £328 ( Fly to Split Rovinj is the pin-up of the Istrian coast. Seemingly created for Instagram, it has dreamlike Venetian streets and nightmare crowds. A report by Which? Travel in May recorded 133 visitors in Istria for every resident — the second highest number in Europe after the Greek island of Zante. There are a lot of day-trippers, even in September. That's where this adults-only five-star 20 minutes' walk from the old town comes in. The restaurant is excellent, the mood is calm. There's a luxury spa and a large pool. A private beach club sits alongside the hotel. Kick back by day and, when crowds ease and temperatures cool, drift into town to experience one of Croatia's most bewitching small towns hazed by a golden Three nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,568pp ( Welcome to the 1970s playground of the Adriatic. Rubbing shoulders were Abba, Sophia Loren and, um, Colonel Gaddafi. Look, it was a different era. By the 1980s five stars had become two. In 2022 it reopened after a £34 million spend that included gutting the place, and promptly won hotel of the year at the Croatian Tourism Awards in 2023. Radisson spent big because the location is peerless: beside the sea on a pine-clad bay yet three miles from central Pula. Perhaps also because vast Seventies spaces upgrade nicely into a refined modernist aesthetic. Jet2 has a new Pula route this year. What you save on flights, splurge here B&B doubles from £184 ( Fly to Pula • 18 of the best Croatian islands to visit In the 2017 movie Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, filmed on Vis island, Donna says she aims 'to make memories'. What she really sought was a bohemian lifestyle on an island far out to sea. Enter this relative newcomer to Croatia's most far-flung inhabited island. The ten-room stay in a historic harbour house is a fine match for a destination that gets more boho-posh by the year. Fine art photography on the walls, cool rattan armchairs, lovely staff, bikes to borrow ― it nails laid-back luxury. Expensive, perhaps, but what price the opportunity to live out the Mamma Mia! fantasy of a simple, stylish life for a fortnight?Details Two nights' B&B from £728 ( Fly to Split This is the year to visit Hvar, Croatia's glitziest island. Negative headlines from a modest beach club scene led authorities to introduce noise restrictions in March (85 decibels, in case you're wondering) and there's a no-nonsense approach to misbehaviour. The goal is to return Hvar Town to being a buzzy small harbour with Venetian Renaissance architecture. Good luck to them, but if you're choosing to visit you'll probably seek some nightlife, so it makes sense to stay somewhere modern, stylish and beside the water. This fits the bill. Boats bob outside, Carpe Diem cocktail bar is opposite and Hula Hula beach club is just around the bay. Details B&B doubles from £253 ( Fly to Split The Elafiti island Lopud has shifted from backwater to Dubrovnik day trip in the 20 years I've been going. Obvious, really — the harbour's pretty, Sunj beach has sand. Anyway, that's where Sipan island comes in. The castaway cool of Bowa beach club aside, the next island on is the anti-Lopud: three miles of nicely scruffy harbours, vineyards and Renaissance chapels. Most people get around on foot. If you're after nothing more than books, strolls, swims and quiet nights, you'll fit right in. The Kristic family's hotel is spotless, friendly, has a small pool and is bang on the sea. They'll transfer you from the airport by B&B doubles from £120 ( Fly to Dubrovnik Second cities such as Sibenik make for more rewarding breaks. They're generally quieter, have fewer tourists and are better value. This hotel, which opened in 2021, proves the point. It compacts all that is good about this small overlooked city in Dalmatia — an old town with a splendid cathedral, good restaurants, sea views — into a small hotel installed in a 17th-century monastery. Open the shutters and you'll see either old stone the colour of ivory or sea and islands that beg for day trips by ferry. Wallow in a rooftop hot tub and you'll see the cathedral spire above roofs. Now check out the price. Beat that, B&B doubles from £117 ( Fly to Split Trogir's fate is to be near Split airport and too often bypassed. Yet Unesco describes it as one of Europe's finest small towns: Romanesque churches, palaces from centuries under Venetian rule. So it is. What it doesn't say is that it has a pretty harbour that seems purpose-designed for pottering around. Stay at this pleasure palace for discerning aesthetes, sophisticated in its Scandi metropolitan style (geometric print throws, rugs skimming parquet floors) while being relaxed. There's the requisite spa plus two pools. The 'beach' of the name is scruffy shingle, but there are sandier stretches on neighbouring Ciovo island, linked by bridge. Parents rejoice: there's a babysitter B&B doubles from £175 ( Fly to Split For romance — historic lodgings, morning coffee before day-trippers arrive, siestas after lunch, strolls to bed after dinner — only the old town will do. This intimate house fits the bill nicely. On a narrow side street, it has 16th-century stone and beams in suites — smaller Standard and Attic rooms are in an adjacent cottage — but cons are mod. Decor is understated, with white walls and buff fabrics upholstering antique furniture. While rooms in the house have modest kitchenettes (those in the cottage share a kitchen) breakfasts are served in-room. Luggage transport into the old town is a nice B&B doubles £368 ( Fly to Dubrovnik Throughout August, Zrce beach on Pag island is Croatia's answer to Ibiza. Go in September or early October and the island reverts to its older self: bare pink-white mountains as austere and magical as a desert, still inlets and modest holiday resorts like Novalja. You're a couple of miles outside Novalja at this rural wine hotel. I first visited when it opened in 2003 and it remains criminally under-valued; one of those little black book finds. Here 11 rooms and suites make a virtue of simplicity, Michelin-starred chef Matija Breges does creative things with island dishes and staff are B&B double from £182 ( Fly to Zadar The 'Rocco' was one of Istria's first smart wine hotels when it opened in the northern wine hills in 2004. It has been eclipsed by more luxurious stays since, but you'll get a week at this 13-room place, with flights, for the price of three nights elsewhere. You're hardly roughing it either. Expect beams and stone walls, a pool and modest spa, free bikes, estate olive oils and wines in the restaurant. Better, it's not isolated like some rural stays, sitting at the edge of Brtonigla, a town yet to be overtaken by tourism. If you want that, it's ten miles away on the coast and in hill-town Motovun. Details Seven nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,533 ( Do you have a favourite hotel in Croatia? Share it in the comments
Powys County Times
8 hours ago
- Powys County Times
‘Viable chance' of ceasefire in Ukraine thanks to Trump, says Starmer
Donald Trump's interventions over the Ukraine war have created a 'viable' chance of a ceasefire, but Britain stands ready to 'increase pressure' on Russia if necessary, Sir Keir Starmer has said. In a call with allies on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the meeting expected between the US president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is 'hugely important', but any deal must protect Kyiv's 'territorial integrity'. It comes amid concerns about the prospect of Ukraine being sidelined in negotiations about its own future after Mr Trump suggested any truce would involve some 'swapping' of land. Leaders including Sir Keir and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky held virtual talks with the US president earlier on Wednesday as Europe braces for the outcome of his face-to-face discussions with Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday. Mr Trump told reporters in Washington he rated the call 'a 10' and revealed a second meeting, with both the Ukrainian president and the Russian president present, could take place 'if the first one goes okay'. Co-chairing a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in the event of truce – Sir Keir said any deal must sit alongside 'robust' security guarantees. 'This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important,' he said. 'As I've said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire. 'And now we do have that chance, because of the work of that the president has put in.' Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage, and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, he said. 'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' he told allies. 'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.' Mr Trump announced last week that he would meet Mr Putin on US soil on Friday, as he seeks an end to a conflict he had promised he could finish on his first day in office. It is believed one of the Russian leader's demands is for Ukraine to cede parts of the Donbas region which it still controls. But Mr Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise Ukraine's territorial integrity, something that is forbidden by the country's constitution. In a press conference alongside German chancellor Friedrich Merz after the joint call on Wednesday, the Ukrainian president said 'Trump supported us today' and the US is ready to continue that support. French president Emmanuel Macron said the US president had been 'very clear' on the virtual meeting that he wanted to secure a ceasefire in the talks on Friday. Asked if it was his decision not to invite Mr Zelensky to his meeting with Mr Putin on Friday, Mr Trump told reporters in Washington: 'No, just the opposite.' 'We had a very good call, he was on the call, President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly.' He added: 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing.' He continued: 'We'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there.'
Wales Online
10 hours ago
- Wales Online
Ryanair baggage rule change could see passengers hit with extra £70 charge
Ryanair baggage rule change could see passengers hit with extra £70 charge Ryanair has updated its cabin baggage rules for summer 2025 and there's one rule that could catch you out if you're unprepared The summer holidays are now upon us and many Britons are desperate to escape the UK for some well-deserved sunshine and coastal tranquillity. Unfortunately there are countless airport rules that could dampen the enthusiasm before it even starts. One rule, concerning Ryanair luggage, risks creating problems for passengers at the airport if they turn up ill-prepared. It's frequently seen as travellers' biggest nightmare – being singled out by airport personnel to check their hand luggage dimensions with sizing frames just before take-off. With budget airline Ryanair passengers are permitted to take a "personal bag" free of charge though it must comply with their strict size requirements. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . After a recent change in line with EU rules these dimensions have been increased to 40 x 30 x 20cm. If their bag surpasses these boundaries passengers face a fee as high as £70. Ryanair operates a card-only payment system at its boarding gates, which could create problems for some holidaymakers. This means that if a passenger is prepared to pay the fee, without a payment card to hand, they could be prevented from boarding with their baggage, reports Lincolnshire Live. A Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail: "Our bag policy is simple; if it fits in our bag sizer (which is bigger than our agreed dimensions) it gets on free of charge. Article continues below "If it doesn't fit in our bag sizer you pay a gate bag fee. As our boarding gates are cashless gate bag fees cannot be paid in cash. "These fees are paid by less than 0.1% of passengers who don't comply with our agreed bags rules. For the 99.9% of our passengers who comply with our rules we say thank you and keep flying as you have nothing to worry about." Therefore if you're travelling with Ryanair this summer it would be wise to bring a card to guarantee your holiday begins without a hitch. This warning emerges following reports that a new four-hour regulation has been implemented before the summer holidays, affecting travellers with Ryanair, easyJet, TUI, and Jet2. Following a European Union ruling, the timeframe for claiming compensation for delayed flights has been lengthened. After more than a decade of discussions it has been determined that compensation claims for short-haul flights will only be acceptable following a delay of no less than four hours, which has increased from the earlier three-hour limit. For long-distance trips travellers must endure a delay of six hours or longer before pursuing compensation. The type of delay also influences the amount of compensation granted. Article continues below A4E, which represents leading European carriers, voiced frustration. A spokesman said: "Europe has been waiting for transparent and workable passenger rights for 12 years and member states have fallen at the final hurdle to deliver [...] member states have diluted the European Commission's original proposal and introduced even more complexity."
