Way back in 2004, Neiman Marcus offered a personal airship for sale from German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH. Now just one of the three zeppelins in the world is available for sightseeing trips. A zeppelin has an internal framework covered with a canvas filled with the lifting gas while a blimp gets its shape from the lifting gas itself. The Airship Ventures Zeppelin is, at 246-foot-long the largest airship in the world. It will have a permanent home in California's Bay Area where it will offer quiet cruises at 35 to 40 mph for $500 a ticket. Each journey will carry just 12 passengers. While this may not be the best time to launch such a pricey venture, the investors are hopeful that the area's many tourists will be interested in getting this unique experience of the California landscape.

[via Gadling]

Japan Airlines (JAL) has created a new suite for JAL first class and a new seat for their business class which they will be introducing on US routes. The airline will launch the JAL Suite in first class and the JAL Shell Flat Neo Seat in business class when the airline introduces new 777-300ER aircraft on US routes, starting with the Tokyo - New York route on August 1, 2008.

The suitse in JAL First Class are 20% more spacious than the airline's current seat in first class and only suites are available in the JAL First Class cabin set in a 1-2-1 configuration. The suite includes a seat upholstered in gray leather which converts into a full-flat bed. In the 180° position the seat combines with an ottoman located at the opposite end of the compartment to create one of the largest and widest, most comfortable sleeping areas in first class. When the seat is in the upright position, the ottoman can be used as a seat for a guest. The sliding table can be placed between the seat and ottoman. Passengers, seated in the pair of suites who are traveling together can lower privacy partitions located between them. Each suite comes with Bose noise-cancelling headphones and a personal 19-inch personal TV screen and stowage spaces for bags and small items and a laptop power point. Those in the suites can also whatever they like off the menu whenever they would like with choices of Japanese or Western full-course menus. For sleeping a cabin attendant can place a Tempur-Pedic mattress on the seat bed along with a down comforter and a pillow a well as offer special JAL loungewear.

The new business class seat reclines to 171 degrees and has a 15.4 inch personal TV screen. The business class cabin also features the "Sky Gallery," one wall of the cabin shows a a photographic exhibition that will be regularly changed over the year. The first exhibit, in collaboration with Fuji Film, will be a series of photographs of forests in Japan entitled 'Forest Forever'. The gallery will be located directly opposite a self-service bar counter, where passengers can enjoy snacks and beverages at anytime.

Talk about bizarre, Lamborghini recently enlisted the help of the Italian military (don't they have anything better to do?) to fly one of their rare and uber-expensive Lamborghini Reventon cars over the town of Turin and land it on the roof of the Lingotto building, where they were having a conference titled "Lamborghini and speed, a project in record time." And record money too I bet.

The only explanation Lamborghini gave to curious onlookers was "all 20 units (of the Reventon) have been sold worldwide." I guess that since they were each priced at over $1.5 million that is a big deal, but who came up with this idea?

In 2005, Lufthansa started their private jet program, partnering with NetJets. Things must be going well Lufthansa has announced their plans to have a private jet fleet ready for summer 2008. The company will receive seven private jets from Cessna soon and will continue to work with private jet companies. They plan to offer four different categories of planes ranging from four to 12 seats. The number of private jet flights for Lufthansa rose 26% last year. The German airline will be the first European airline to develop its own fleet of business jets.

The plans to get the Solar Impulse off the ground got a boost this week. The Solar Impulse is a solar-powered airplane that Swiss adventurer Betrand Piccard plans to take on a round-the-world trip. Piccard has been working to raise funds for the project and so far they have raised $60 million but need $90 million for the whole project. Piccard, who piloted the first hot-air balloon nonstop around the world in 1999, was in Singapore recently to announce a partnership between his Solar Impulse project and the International Air Transport Association, or IATA. The IATA will provide assistance to ensure the smooth passage of the solar plane around the world.

The project began in 2003 and the first attempt for the flight is planned for 2011. The one-pasenger plane will have a long wingspan of 262.5 feet to provide maximum surface area for the solar cells that will power it. The flight will be conducted in four stages over 15 days, with stops on several continents to switch pilots.

The race for the next supersonic flight is on. I've mentioned the QSST concept before now here comes the A2 airplane which takes things a step further It is a hypersonic plane designed by Reaction Engines in England. The A2 is designed to carry 300 passengers at a top speed of 4,000mph and will run on a liquid hydrogen engine. The A2 will be twice the size of the biggest current jumbo jets and could fly between Europe and Australia in less than five hours. Don't look for this one anytime soon, the company has said that the aircraft could be operating within 25 years.

No matter how rich you are and no matter what kind of perks the airlines may offer you in first class to make your flight more comfortable, there's one thing that they've never offered no matter who you are: mid-flight wi-fi internet access.

JetBlue is changing that. They aren't offering enough bandwidth to surf the net necessarily, but just enough to make checking and sending emails through Blackberries and other devices, even laptops, possible. The new perk is now being offered on select flights only, on a trial basis. But JetBlue expects within about six months to be rolling out internet access company-wide.

Many airlines have first class lounges but Virgin Atlantic has raised the bar at London's Heathrow airport with an entire Upper Class wing. The wing includes a dedicated security channel just for Virgin Atlantic customers helping to deliver what Virgin Atlantic promises will be the fastest check-in around. Their new ad campaign promises "limo to lounge" in just 10 minutes. The wing, designed by architects Foster + Partners has a hotel-like lobby to help deliver a more relaxed experience. The wing opens November 2.

You've been reading about it, you've been hearing about it, and now it's finally happened: those two tickets up for auction for a luxury suite (plus all kinds of other goodies) on the maiden voyage of the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 have finally sold -- for $100,000. That sounds like a lot of money to pay for a flight from Singapore to Sydney, but of course it's on an Airbus, it includes a lot of other perks, and that's actually a lot less than what the airline was hoping to get for charity (the "Buy it now" was $380,000). What a bargain!

Flying first class used to just mean more leg room and a better meal, but anymore some airlines are really going over the top. And the word is some airlines because not all of them even offer first class anymore, having done away with it to focus instead on business class. About 35 airlines offer first class right now, and the competition is getting steeper and steeper as they all compete to get that "wow factor" from customers. They're providing everything from fully flat beds, 3:1 passenger to crew ratios, exotic high end linens, pillows, toiletries, and even 7 course gourmet meals with caviar and Dom Perignon champagne. All that's missing is a jacuzzi!

Recently Skytrax came up with their annual list of the top 10 first class airline experiences, and here's who made their cut as the best of the best:

• Qatar Airways
• Singapore Airlines
• Cathay Pacific
• Malaysia Airlines
• Thai Airways
• Emirates
• Jet Airways
• Lufthansa
• Korean Air
• Qantas Airways

Agree? Disagree? I wouldn't be opposed to trying them all and giving my opinion, if someone else would sponsor me that is...

Those who travel frequently often find themselves in between destinations, killing time in an airport. Whether it is a flight delay or a long layover, that downtime can be anything but pleasant. Huge crowds, long lines, and the general chaos that reigns in an airport is not conducive to working or relaxing. That's where the business-class lounges come in. A respite from the madness, these havens range from the very basic to the very luxurious - and knowing which is where can come in handy when planning your itinerary.

Each year, Skytrax ranks the 10 best business-class lounges in the world based on data that includes customer surveys and business research group interviews. The results are in and in the number one spot is Virgin Atlantic's Clubhouse at Heathrow Airport. In addition to a complete office, library, and video projection system, those looking for first class relaxation will find everything they desire. Take a cat nap on a daybed in a hideaway mezzanine, enjoy a meal in one of several dining options or have a drink at the bar. Or use the time to visit the Cowshed Spa, where you can get a facial, massage or even a tan. If all that pampering musses your hair, you can stop by the Bumble and Bumble Hair Salon.

A few North American carriers are beginning to upgrade their lounge offerings, but for now you won't find any of them of Skytrax's top ten list.

Okay so the Skycar is probably not in your budget but for the price of a car you could own the Super Sky Cycle. Larry Neal's company The Butterfly has gone into production with their first 30 Super Sky Cycle Kits. The cycle is a tricycle-geared gyroplane with a folding rotor. Assemble it yourself and then it is registered for the air as an experimental amateur-built aircraft and on the ground as a homebuilt motorcycle. It is powered by a 100-horsepower Rotax 912 ULS engine and can hit a top speed of 100 MPH and a maximum highway speed of 55 MPH. The Super Sky Cycle kit lists for $37,195 including the engine, and is recommended for pilots under 280 pounds.

[via Aero-News Network]

In these days of global warming and high gas prices, flying for pleasure seems increasingly wasteful. Sonex Aircraft is working on the problem. They have announced their E-Flight initiative for sport aircraft and have created a prototype electric sport plane. The E-Flight Initiative also includes improving the efficiency and performance of existing planes. The company is focusing on electric power, ethanol fuel and efficiency enhancement as part of their three-part plan.

The E-Flight electric project uses a purpose-built AeroConversions brushless DC cobalt motor, controller, and battery and charging system. The plan is to develop E-Flight electric systems that will be able to power a larger aircraft to higher top speeds with greater lasting time. For the prototype, top speeds will reach approximately 130 mph and are expected to range between 25-45 minutes with plans to push the envelope up to an hour or more eventually. No dates yet on when an actual electric kit plane might be available to the public.

[via General Aviation News]

Richard Branson of Virgin Airways isn't just concentrating on the burgeoning space tourism market, he has now announced that he is getting into the private jet business. Branson's latest idea is Virgin Charter, a website that connects sellers of flight time on private planes with eager buyers. The idea is that many private jets have a lot of "empty legs" when they fly home after dropping passengers off. As Forbes reports it's an interesting move for Branson who just began a $3 billion campaign to fight global warming. But the idea behind the company is to reduce the empty flights thereby helping to eliminate wasted fuel. Branson and company won't be buying any jets for this endeavor, it's all about playing, as the website calls it, "jet matchmaker."

For kids who have parents that can afford it, long gone are the days of riding to summer camp on a hot loud bus that smells like peanut butter and sweat. Many families are instead going the route of private jet flights, thanks in part to charter company Revolution Air assigning more than 20 jets to just that purpose this month. Costing about $8,000 per flight, most families choose it to both save time and make for a special experience. The designated jets have specialized menus featuring chicken fingers and ice cream, and it's such a treat for some they're opting to fly instead of taking a bus ride of almost the same length!