Air Canada recently released a dedicated iPhone app that keeps passengers updated on flight information, makes check-in simple and even allows for an electronic boarding pass displayed on the phone. To update the flight status simply shake the phone and the integrated functionality ensures a smoother departure process. The 2D bar code boarding pass image can be scanned at the airport and other travel information like other flights, renting a car and important travel bulletins are also accessible through the mobile application.
Many airlines have mobile-optimized websites, but this application integrates mobile functionality with a more efficient check-in. [...]

Justin Wehr points us to an eye-opening infographic that clarifies how certain airlines can keep their ticket prices so low.
[Cool Infographics via Wehr In The World]

When a survey of PSFK readers I conducted said that 75% of you think that a ‘helpful’ inflight staff is an attribute of a great airline – why, in our experience, do airlines still seem to fail to provide the simplest of services? In this opinion piece I try to theorize about airlines’ group-hate of passengers and the strategic problem fueling it.
A particularly painful flight(s) I took recently (partly documented on Facebook here and here) on United Airlines reminded me of the controversial experiment by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in 1961. The Milgram experiment involved ‘teachers’ who would give [...]

Swiss Air has redesigned their first class cabins to offer passengers additional privacy, space, and connectivity. The new design includes a 23″ screen for movies, fold out tables for work and dining, a full length bed, and a touch screen remote to control all your seating and rest arrangements.
A quick 360º tour of the cabins from the airline’s site.
[via Wallpaper]