The team at the JPA Design studio have identified five trends they believe will shape the world of air travel in 2026, from wellness, to branding, to ‘slow travel’.
1: The comfort renaissance
Meaningful, personalised experiences at every stage of the journey
As luxury becomes increasingly personal, travellers expect comfort that extends far beyond premium materials or conventional cues from the hospitality sector. In 2026, comfort will be redefined as a meaningful, individualised experience delivered seamlessly across every stage of the journey, from car to airport, cabin to hotel, residence to retreat.
Brands must design environments that intuitively respond to traveller needs, weaving emotional resonance, flexibility, and personal relevance into every touchpoint. Luxury is no longer simply about what is offered: it’s about what feels uniquely crafted for each guest.
2: Wellness is the new wealth
Redefining luxury through health-centred design
Wellness has become the definitive marker of modern luxury, shifting from a desirable amenity to a foundational design principle. JPA has long championed this ethos, as seen in projects such as Afterglow, where circadian lighting and sensory balance support traveller restoration.
In 2026, travellers will increasingly prioritise health, seeking environments that nourish and uplift through natural light, ergonomic details, sustainable materials, and human-centric spatial design. Wellness now shapes the architecture of experience itself, redefining opulence as environments that enhance vitality and emotional equilibrium.
3: The future-proofed aesthetic
Sustainability and flexibility become design dual forces
Sustainability and adaptability will converge to define a new design language where spaces evolve intelligently over time. As retrofitting, modularity, and material innovation accelerate across the travel, hospitality, and residential sectors, travellers gravitate toward environments that offer flexibility without sacrificing beauty or longevity.
Airlines will explore lower-density layouts and expanded ‘middle luxury’ cabins, while hotels and residences will be reconfigured to meet shifting lifestyle patterns. Future-proofed design reflects a mindful balance: visually compelling, operationally resilient, and built with a long-term ecological perspective.
4: Branded worlds
Cultural and creative collisions as brands continue to expand beyond their categories
As travellers seek reassurance, coherence, and meaning, they gravitate toward brands whose values, aesthetics and intentions feel reliably genuine. In a world where authenticity is increasingly difficult to decipher, trusted brands become cultural touchstones, offering clarity, continuity, and a sense of emotional grounding.
The shift toward trusted identity is prompting brands to expand into new spaces, driving the growth of branded residences, wellness-led hospitality, and design-forward mobility spaces. In 2026, these brands will extend far beyond their original categories to create holistic lifestyle ecosystems, where every touchpoint shares a unified design language and clear creative ethos.
Transportation will adopt the intimacy of residential design, hotels will embrace the rich narratives of cultural brands, and wellness companies will expand into travel to craft environments that feel both exclusive and personally resonant. These branded worlds will deliver belonging, coherence, and narrative depth – spaces that will feel unmistakably part of a larger, trusted creative universe.
5: The Golden Age reimagined
A return to rail, sea, and slow travel, reinvented for the future
Rail and marine travel are experiencing a renaissance, not only due to their sustainability and sense of spatial freedom, but because they embody a shift in mindset: in 2026, the journey itself will become just as meaningful as the destination. As travellers seek richer, slower, and more intentional experiences, trains and sea-based journeys offer the opportunity to savour movement, engage with the environment, and enjoy personalised comfort along the way.
These modes of travel naturally lend themselves to hyper-personalisation, wellness-led design, and adaptive materiality that evolves over time. From elevated rail suites to reimagined marine and yachting experiences, these platforms will support curated rituals, restorative moments, and a renewed sense of narrative immersion. Their growing appeal reflects a broader cultural desire for travel that is conscious, experiential, and deeply attuned to the emotional arc of the journey itself.
