Update #26: Safran sells SPI/RAVE, Lufthansa Group “rebrands”, ANA’s 787 The Room FX, American’s A321XLR, and three interesting new lounges

Why Safran is selling its IFE unit, the genuinely baffling Lufthansa Group “new” brand, some juicy details about ANA’s new The Room FX seat, more information about American’s A321XLR, and how three new lounges are moving the needle in different ways

By John Walton 10 min read
A RAVE IFE system, seat 32B, offering English, Arabic and Russian on the splash screen.

Welcome back to The Up Front Update!

Back from RedCabin and working through all our notes, the first piece out is our “state of the industry” Business Readout, covering the current situation in the seats and interiors world, the common problems and some of the ways the industry is trying to solve them. 

Meanwhile, in this Update:

The Up Front UpdateSafran Passenger InnovationsRAVEInflight EntertainmentLufthansaBrandingLoungesANA All Nippon AirwaysSafran Seats The Room FXSafran SeatsAmerican AirlinesA321XLRCollins AerospaceCollins Aerospace AuroraTurkish AirlinesEdinburghAir FranceLondon HeathrowjetBlueNew York JFK
John Walton

Editor in chief of The Up Front, with two decades of experience reporting across the global aviation industry, specialising in business and first class, seats, cabins and the passenger experience.