Update #31: Air India’s 787 Elevate Ascent and older Recaro seats, plus more Vantage XL surprises for Discover’s A330 and Lufthansa’s A380

Air India wows with JPA & TrendWorks designs for Ascent on new 787s, and the Lufthansa Group takes two more variants of Thompson Vantage XL for Discover and Lufthansa itself

By John Walton 12 min read
An almost birds-eye view of a cosy business class herringbone cabin in mostly warm neutrals.

Hello and welcome back to The Up Front Update! 

After the genuinely bizarre White House trade war threats about “decertifying… all Aircraft made in Canada” and planning to “charge Canada a 50% Tariff on all Aircraft sold into the United States”, it seems like those threats have passed, at least for now. But the episode does emphasise just how vulnerable to capricious geopolitical decisions aviation remains in 2026.

Meanwhile, in case you missed it last week, we dove deep into what airlines can learn from IAG’s long-haul low-cost carrier LEVEL’s semi-hidden herringbone business class — and about the long-haul low-cost premium experience more widely.

This time round, we have a very business class edition of the Update for you, so please fasten your shoulder belt and ensure your legrest is stowed…

The Up Front UpdateAir India787Business ClassElevateElevate AscentRecaro Aircraft SeatingPremium Economy ClassDiscover AirlinesA330ceoThompson Aero SeatingThompson Vantage XLLufthansaA380Lufthansa Group
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.