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Versace To Design Jet Interiors

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Not content with fashion and a burgeoning hotel empire, Versace will now be designing interiors for private jets. The fashion company has announced a new collaboration with Tag Group SA to design interiors for the Boeing BBJ, Bombardier Global Express and other private jets. The interiors will be shown at a British Air Show this summer. The prototype is described as having a white and black scheme including white leather chairs and black carpeting.

Tags: airline, aviation, boeing bbj, bombardier global express, flight, tag group sa, versace

Silverjet, Another London to New York Flight Option

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The already competitive London to New York flight market is about to get a bit tighter. We've already covered Eos and MAXjet which both offer the same route. Silverjet Limited will offer low fare, all business class flights. CNN reports that Silverjet is currently raising money to get on London's Alternative Investment Market in May. They expect to start business class service from Luton to Newark within six to nine months after getting on the market. They eventually plan to run ten aircraft to a variety of destinations. Like MAXjet, Silverjet will offer around 100 seats which are flatbeds. The average roundtrip is expected to be $1,700.

Tags: airline, airline industry, aviation, business class, eos, flight, london, maxjet, new york, planes, silverjet

JetBlue Gives Their Passengers Bliss

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spas, Wings, Cosmetics and Fragrance

While most airlines have been gradually peeling away the amenities, JetBlue is actually adding something for their customers. The Associated Press reports that JetBlue will offer mini spa kits from Bliss. Their Shut-Eye kit includes mint lip balm, eye mask, earplugs and the popular Bliss body butter. The kits will be distributed flights between the East Coast and the West. The airline is also now offering a self-serve pantry with snacks as part of an attempt to lure back customers. JetBlue, which came on like gangbusters when first launched has reported its first quarterly loss and so are hoping to lure back customers with the freebies.

Tags: amenities, bliss, flight, jetblue, marketing, promotions, spa, special offer

Hooters Air Goes Charter Only

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It has been announced that Hooters Air will be ending regularly scheduled passenger flights as of April 17. High fuel prices are suspected to be one of the reasons for the airline's problems. Hooters only flew a limited number of passengers to a few airports but for the some markets like Myrtle Beach, SC they brought in many much-needed tourists. The airline will still offer charter flights for sports teams and tour groups so if you want to fly with the lovely ladies of Hooters you are going to have to gather a group of people to fly with you.

Tags: airlines, flight, hooters air, HootersAir, wings

Jetmousine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

We saw something similar once on eBay but this article in the Bend Bulletin goes in depth on the "Jetmousine" created by Dan Harris. In Bend, Oregon, Harris turns old private jets into luxury limos. He is currently at work on his first project which has a bright red exterior and a plasma TV, high-definition TVs, an 8,000 watt sound system and plenty of leather upholstery. The first one which costs around $1 million, has been sold to Exotic Coach, a limo company in Chicago, and is street-legal. It uses a 1974 Lear jet fuselage with chrome wheels and a 400-horsepower 8100 cc ~~Vertec~~ Vortec engine from a Chevy truck.

[Thanks, Eric]

Tags: aviation, flight, jet, jetmousine, learjet, limojet, limousine

Australia Tests Out The Scramjet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The Concorde may have been retired but that doesn't mean that fast flight is a thing of the past. Enter the scramjet, an Australian bullet-shaped jet engine that may one day take people from London to Sydney in two hours. The scramjet engine created by QinetiQ (a British defense company) and will be tested today in the Australian desert. The scramjet operates at speeds greater than Mach 5 and works by rapidly sucking in oxygen and burning hydrogen fuel. The test for the latest evolution of the scramjet engine will fly for five seconds, 325 kilometers high (over 200 miles) in a parabolic arch. It is hoped that eventually scramjets could be used to get from one side of the world to the other. It could also have military applications as well as becoming a possible replacement for the space shuttle.

Tags: aviation, flight, jet, scramjet

Luxury Hotels Feed Hungry Fliers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

Fly commercial across the country and starvation may set in. While some airlines sell fairly decent food they often run out and airport food can be a hit-or-miss proposition at best. Luxury hotels are now stepping in to fill the gap. The AP reports on a variety of food-to-go options. The Ritz-Carlton hotels now offer "Flight Bites," sandwiches and light fare that can be ordered off the room service menu, packed and ready to go. The Peninsula Beverly Hills sells platters like the ones shown here that come in cardboard boxes and guests at Hotel Plaza Athene in New York can order from their "Goodies to Go" menu. It's a good strategy to build brand loyalty and inexpensive word-of-mouth when the hungry passenger next to you asks where you got the lovely meal you are tucking in.

Tags: airline, airplane food, flight, meals, peninsula hotel, ritz-carlton

BMW Interiors For The Airbus A350 Jet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The picture shown above is part of the design from BMW for the Airbus A350 twinjet that will be shown off at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2006 in Germany next month. One of the cabin's most interesting features is lighting that can project a night sky or clouds on the ceiling. The design also has a bar area and a dome in the entrance to make the cabin appear less cramped. The overhead bins are also larger to take in more rolling bags, two roller cases per passenger for those in business class and one per passenger for those in economy (a big bonus for anyone who has ever had to wrestle their bag into the bin). New Launches has more pictures of the interior.

Tags: airbus, aircraft interiors, bmw, flight, jet, plane, wings

United Throws Money at Premium Passengers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

In an effort to draw customers to their airlines, United Airlines announced today that it will be upgrading the international first and business class cabins in a program that will cost $165 million. They've partnered up with B/E Aerospace, a manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products to design new premium seats. Don't go looking for these seats yet, the new premium cabins will come out in 2007 and reconfiguration of United's entire international wide-body fleet will take a few years.

[via Airline Travel News]

Tags: airlines, flight, united airlines, UnitedAirlines

Eclipse 500 Jet Heads Into Production

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

One down, 2,399 to go. This week, Eclipse Aviation started production on their first Eclipse 500 jet for a customer. The first customer, pilot David Crowe, was there to start the automated welder and will receive his Eclipse 500 this summer. The FAA is expected to certify the Eclipse in late June. Eclipse is expects to employ 1,000 people by the end of the year and hopes to have 130 planes built. By 2008, the company plans to produce 1,000 planes per year. Once the Eclipse jets start to flood the market we will finally get to see if the predictions of air taxis ruling the skies.

Tags: aviation, eclipse, flight, jet, jet aviation, plane, private planes, very light jet

Hummingbird Kit Helicopter

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

We've seen plenty of kit planes but the Hummingbird is a kit helicopter that is designed for the amateur pilot. The four-place copter from Vertical Aviation Technologies has a 375 mile range and is designed to be able to be built by the "average person." The kit comes complete with every nut, bolt, washer, switch and circuit breaker, plenty of detailed manuals and takes at least 800 hours to complete. The helicopter has a maximum gross weight is 2700 lb.s and the fuel tank holds 57 gallons. The FAA will issue a Repairman Certificate to the builder so that they can maintain their own helicopter. When you are done with your helicopter Vertical Aviation Technologies has a test pilot/technician that can assist with the final testing. The kit sells for $123,750.

[via Helicopter Association International]

Tags: amateur pilot, aviation, flight, helicopter, hummingbird helicopter, vertical aviation technologies, VerticalAviationTechnologies

Jet- Alliance Fractional Eclipse 500 Ownership

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

We've mentioned fractional options for the Eclipse 500 Jet before but Jet-Alliance offers a cheaper way to get your piece of a new Eclipse. They offer something called a “fractional alliance” where the owners share in the costs of ownership and operations of the aircraft plus an administrative fee to Jet-Alliance. For a 1/16th slice of the plane, the cost is $81,000 plus ownership fees starting at $15,000 per year and usage fees of $650 per occupied hour to cover fuel and engine reserves.

[via Very Light Jets Blog]

Tags: eclipse 500, eclipse jet, Eclipse500, flight, fractional ownership, private plane, very light jet, wings

Global Flyer Lands, Breaks Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Steve Fossett has touched down at Bournemouth Airport putting a successful end to the Ultimate Flight. Fossett, who broke the world record for the longest flight ever at 26.389.3 miles and a duration of 76 hours and 45 minutes. Fossett was supposed to land at Kent International Airport, but had to make an emergency landing when his generator failed. It was a rough landing, two tires burst and his windscreen was iced up but he is now on land and in need of a nap.

Tags: air, flight, global flyer, GlobalFlyer, richard branson, steve fossett, virgin, wings, world record

The Global Flyer Takes Off

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Although it was predicted that it might be a few days delayed, the Global Flyer took off this morning after all. Steve Fossett left NASA Kennedy Space Center at 7:22am and is currently zooming around the world. He has spent the day flying over the Atlantic and is currently approaching the African Coast. The takeoff was a bit bumpy as it took the aircraft a while to lift off and two birds hit the aircraft. All seems to be going well currently but weather patterns could cause a bit of a concern.

Tags: flight, global flyer, GlobalFlyer, steve fossett, virgin, wings, world record

FK 9 Mark IV Lightplanes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

This latest LSA (light sport aircraft) is the FK 9 Mark IV from the German company FK Lightplanes. They are now selling the planes in the US through a Florida company. The current FK 9 is the fourth generation and has a more spacious cockpit and new flaps. The plane recently won approval as a Special LSA and there are plans to introduce the German company's other planes the folding bi-wing FK12 Comet and the low-wing FK14 Polaris. The FK9 is a two-seater that has a base price of $75,000.

[via General Aviation News]

Tags: airplane, flight, lightplane, lsa, plane

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