Future of Passenger Experience

Despite its well-known name, Avianca Brasil is a lot smaller than most travelers might think. But it's growing and recently started flying to Miami and New York. Expect to see more new long-haul routes soon.

Is there a tougher job in the airline industry than making Air France more nimble? It's an airline that prides itself on its systems and procedures. But to compete forcefully in the 21st century, an airline must take chances. Air France needs to be more, in that regard, like its Dutch sibling, KLM.

Other airlines serve sushi, but not ANA, Japan's largest carrier. Why? ANA takes its food seriously, and its chefs don't think sushi tastes right on planes, so it serves sashimi instead. That's attention to detail.

Unless you're obsessed with aviation, you probably don't know SpiceJet. But you might someday. India is a fast-growing aviation market, and SpiceJet has nearly 200 Boeing 737s on order. Someday, it might even fly long-haul jets to London or beyond.

Virgin Atlantic has a strong brand, but for years it has lagged far behind British Airways in most categories. The upstart has just been too small to be a bona fide competitor. But Virgin Atlantic is finally taking action to ensure it will be more nimble going forward.

It's a tough time to be a small, full-service airline in Europe. But SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson is trying to ensure his airline can compete both with low cost airlines, like Norwegian, and massive legacy airlines like Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM.

Not every airline can be a global behemoth. Finnair mostly focuses on its niche — connecting Europe with Asia, including secondary Chinese cities.

Panama's Copa Airlines is not well-known in most of North America, but it's among the most profitable airlines in the Americas. Its secret? Like Southwest Airlines, it keeps its model simple.

KLM may not be a perfect airline, but it's surprisingly spunky considering it's owned by a giant French company that also controls Air France. The two airlines couldn't be more different.

Just as Norwegian Air has on trans-Atlantic routes, Air Asia X might disrupt established trans-Pacific players and push down fares. But making money on long-haul flights is tricky, and Air Asia X might decide it has better options closer to home.