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Boeing folding wings

Boeing's latest innovation in the travel field is an extremely thin, folding wing that it says will let planes fly at just below the speed of sound at higher altitudes than before, while offering unprecedented aerodynamic efficiency, according to a news release from the company.

The Transonic Truss-Braced Wing boasts an extended wingspan of 170 feet, made possible by a truss that supports its weight.

During development, which is still at conceptual phase, engineers have also been able to obtain an increased top speed from a planned Mach 0.70-0.75 to Mach 0.80, only slightly below the speed of sound, or Mach 1.

CNN Travel

BTW folding wings are already showing up on the new Boeing 777X

 

The Ultra Long-Range Airbus

Singapore to New York, nonstop. Almost 20 hours in the air.

Starting October 11, passengers on Singapore Airlines' newest plane, the Airbus A350-900ULR -- for Ultra Long-Range -- will travel on a record-breaking, globe-spanning flight that will reconnect the two major metropolises.

The plane has high ceilings, sophisticated LED lighting, almost vertical sidewalls and a low noise level.

These features, along with a maximum in-cabin simulated altitude of just 6,000 feet, all combine to provide an improved passenger experience,

The A350's fuselage is made from composite materials, including carbon fiber -- rather than using conventional aluminum construction techniques. This allowed Airbus to include wide, panoramic windows. Lots of windows.

Airlines will have the choice between a standard pull-down shade, or an electro-mechanical, push-button system, with two cabin-darkening blinds.

The air circulation system on the A350 has also been designed to be quiet and draft-free.

CNN Travel

 

The return of supersonic travel?

This time over the Pacific…

“The first stage of Boom's plan could be launching as early as next year.

The company has publicly announced plans to fly its XB-1 -- a two-seat demonstration aircraft -- in 2019 as proof of concept.

If that goes well, the company will embark on its main mission: To build a fleet of supersonic commercial jets that fly at Mach 2.2, which equates to 1,451 mph -- or more than double the speed of sound.

Putting that into travel terms, a typical 12-hour flight from Shanghai to Los Angeles could be reduced to roughly five to six hours.”

CNN Travel

 

Biometric Boarding

In an initial trial, Lufthansa says it boarded (at LAX) some 350 passengers onto an A380 in 20 minutes. All passengers need to do is approach the self-boarding gate right right before boarding the plane and pause: Within seconds, facial scans are sent in real-time to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for verification, and if all goes as planned, a passenger is recognized as "boarded" and can proceed down the jet bridge. Following the trial, the airline says it will roll out biometric boarding at other airports around the country. So long, pesky boarding passes!

Conde Nast Traveler

 

iPads in the cockpit

At British Airways, which started equipping its pilots with iPads five years ago, the tablets are a tool for streamlining the many tasks that compete for attention before takeoff. Passengers and baggage need loading, fuel needs pumping, flight plans need agreeing. When a pilot unlocks his iPad, it looks much like yours, albeit with a big, dark, British Airways logo as the background. But then the pilot opens a portal and gets a simplified view of the apps they'll need, as large blue buttons in neatly arranged rows. There's Go Fly, for inflight information; Yammer, for chatting with other people in the company; ESP-PIL, for letting the pilot pull up information on every passenger aboard, to see what status they are, and whether they’ve been delayed recently. If another holdup is imminent, the pilot can walk back through the plane and give that high-value, potentially aggrieved traveler some special attention.

If they didn't have time to meet everybody in person before the flight, pilots can pull up a photo for each crew member. An Airbus A380 carries 22 crew members, so these profiles help with security and teamwork.

Wired

 

Sleeping in a cargo container?

You may soon be doing so, and willing to pay for the privilege. From Wired

Airlines buying certain planes from Airbus will soon be able to order new “passenger modules,” the exact size and shape of a cargo container. They can slot them into the belly of large planes, just like they load your luggage, in a large metal bin. They can also pull them out again for shorter flights or when they need more cargo space.

If the concept works, and airlines find ways to use the bunks to make money without robbing too much cargo space, bunks could be just the beginning. Airbus also showed plans for a lounge, a conference room, a medical suite, and a kids play zone, all to be slotted into the cargo hold. One day, the entire plane could feature swappable modules instead of permanent, regular seats.

WOW: an endless summer!

“We are now accepting applications for a 3 month paid summer job, where you will move to Iceland and travel the world with your best friend.

Your mission will be to explore some of WOW air's 38 destinations and document your travels to create a complete digital Travel Guide.

To apply, you will need to create and upload a short video travel guide (max 2 min) of your hometown.”

WOW Air

 

Reversing the Southwest 737 model: Long Haul, First Class

Boeing had a competition among the top designers in the field to design the new Boeing Business Jets, or BBJ MAX, and the Paris-based design firm of Alberto Pintohad the winning proposal. Their vision of flying on a 737 MAX is a perfect balance of modernity and coziness.

The layout is designed to accommodate up to 19 passengers and two crew. It includes a large entrance hall, a large galley for food preparation, a central corridor, a guest lavatory, a front lounge, dining area, and aft lounge, as well as a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, shower, vanity, and storage cabinets.

Travel and Leisure

 

Aviation moonshot

Qantas flew a Boeing 787 Dreamliner nonstop from London to Perth its inaugural QF9 last week. Quite a contrast to flying Kangaroo class with seven stopovers over a period of four days in the early days of aviation. But Qantas is not satisfied. It is pushing both Boeing and Airbus to make Sydney to London, a 20 hour flight, a reality by 2022. Its vision is called Project Sunrise. Project Sunrise is a nod to the Double Sunrise flights operated by Qantas across the Indian Ocean during World War II.

It is pushing the manufacturers to meet that stretch goal. It is also pushing itself. And all of us should benefit even on much shorter flights.

In my 2012 book The New Technology Elite I had described the innovations the Dreamliner is already delivering.  The higher cabin pressure and humidity in the Dreamliner is designed to combat fatigue on long flights. So is the LED mood lighting. The windows are electrochromic and don’t need shades. The frame is much lighter, the range much longer.

Qantas is working with the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre to develop lighter, healthier meals. It is working on other projects to encourage on-board movement and exercise. It is reconfiguring its lounges “it features an outdoor terrace, light therapy in the bathrooms and a relaxation studio where passengers can participate in stretching and breathing classes with a yoga teacher.”

Boeing’s 10,000th 737

It’s been over five decades since Boeing launched the 737, and the latest generation, the stretched MAX 8 is a far cry from the first one. Boeing just rolled out its 10,000th – for Southwest Airlines shown in video below.

Over the generations, there has been plenty of nostalgia about this workhorse including this episode from the  Seattle Times

“Bob Bogash, 73, who as an engineer helped build the first airplane, flew in a later globe-spanning sales flight aboard the 1,000th 737.

He recalled a grueling journey in 1984 from Seattle across North America, then over the North Atlantic via Iceland to various European capitals, crossing the Sahara to visit nine countries in Africa as far south as Zimbabwe, then flying over the South Atlantic to French Guiana and Venezuela, before returning home to Seattle via Puerto Rico and Memphis — 19 countries in 27 days, routinely waking at 5 a.m. and getting to bed around midnight.

“You never stayed in one place. You had nowhere to do your laundry. In half these places, you couldn’t drink the water. You brushed your teeth with Chivas Regal,” Bogash said. “But you can sell a lot of airplanes that way.””