Lufthansa Technik has unveiled a stunning VIP interior with a sun deck, disco and spa for the super-rich who want to explore the world.
The company calls it “your personal flying hotel” which will “provide you with all comforts and amenities that you can expect from a five-star hotel on the ground.”
“In developing the cabin floor plan, we placed our emphasis on a wide range of possible use cases. Interior elements are deliberately kept multi-functional. In addition to classic room elements such as bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, and conference areas, we show you a variety of new ideas,” Lufthansa Technik said.
And those new ideas are fitness areas, dance floor and a SPA area.
Lufthansa Technik promises “can take all your special equipment with you. No matter if it is a car, offroad vehicle, wing suite, wine cellar, exploration laboratory, or even an emergency medical room – or anything else you might dream off.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOl1sDEdL3w
Lufthansa Technik has integrated the unique ceiling projection system of Diehl Aerospace, (below) to create a breathtaking interior that exploits the technology`s full potential for a VIP cabin.
“For the first time, you can bring a variety of atmospheres into your private jet – depending on your mood and occasion. The system covers huge areas of the ceiling and sidewalls where it brings an endless variety of virtual worlds to life.”
And when you arrive at your destination airport you can activate the unique main deck sun deck using the main deck cargo door which is available ex-works on the Airbus A330 freighter or as a retrofit on passenger versions.
This opens up the interior to its surroundings, into which you can then immerse directly via a platform that can be extended by several meters.
Lufthansa Technik says it has chosen the Airbus Corporate Jet ACJ330 as the platform but the layout concept can also be easily transferred into any other widebody aircraft like an Airbus A350, the Boeing 787 or 777.
Virgin Australia has fitted out two Boeing 737-800s with a revised upgraded interior that offers a greater recline in business class and new thoughtful features in the economy cabin.
Business Class seats have 40 percent more recline as well as customizable leg and footrests for additional comfort.
The seats have been fitted with movable tray tables with in-built device holders – assisting in maximizing space and usability during meal service.
There are also additional in-seat storage cubbies for personal items, including a high-powered USB charging port.
In the economy cabin, the seats feature a seatback device holder, which accommodates everything from a small smartphone to a larger tablet.
Another noticeable feature is the upper safety card and menu stowage, freeing up seat pocket space for the safekeeping of personal belongings.
Passengers who upgrade to Economy X will still enjoy stretching out with 40 percent extra legroom.
Virgin Australia Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Paul Jones, said the new interior added to a long list of customer enhancements the airline has rolled out since relaunching almost 12 months ago.
“We are excited to unveil our new interior prototype which we are going to trial over the next few months,” Mr. Jones said.
“Virgin Australia is committed to being a customer-led business, so once we receive feedback from our guests and crew, we’ll consider implementing elements of the new design as our fleet grows.
“We’re really focussed on creating great experiences for our guests and the design has been carefully considered to implement thoughtful features that we know will make traveling with Virgin Australia more enjoyable.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how the new design will influence our fleet moving forward as we continue to expand our fleet and network as the market recovers,” he said.
Boeing 747 captain Christiaan van Heijst has captured this incredible photo of a KLM 777 passing below his freighter over the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.
Christiaan takes up the story;
“A long night towards the Orient, crossing the vast and frozen wastelands of Siberia and the Mongolian Gobi Desert in bitter cold blackness. The darkest night of the month, void and forsaken of lunar luminescence, showing only the lights of a handful of settlements far and in between.
“The night is quiet and the lackluster scenery below is more than compensated by a view of eternity above. Stars, meteors, satellites, and planets, at least for the privileged and attuned trespasser who knows how to spot or appreciate them.
“And even among those handful of aeronautical invaders, a mere percentage look out of their entitled windows oblivious of the significance laid out beyond.
“My colleague of the night (co-pilot) shares roughly the same sense of nocturnal sensitivity and soon we both relish the spell of the night, discussing the state of the world under a fresh cup of coffee.
“Appreciating this introspective state requires a tranquility of the mind that turns some, though not all, attuned pilots to true beings of the sky.
“Regardless of the aeroplane we fly and independent of its level of automation and fancy displays, we occupy the cockpit: a mere tool for our human bodies to exist up here at all.
“Faint Zodiacal Light lingers over the horizon; sunlight reflected from Martian dust in interplanetary space.
“Other Dutch voices over the Mongolian radio frequencies, greeting us in our native language as they flash their powerful landing lights back at us. Hello goodbye, flying Dutchmen.
“We’re nomads in the sky, children of the stars. Let there be light.”
EDITOR NOTE: Christiaan’s photo -below- is a time exposure that captures the oncoming 777-300ERs landing lights flashing as well as the wingtip navigation lights.
Christiaan is one of the world’s leading aviation photographers and more of his work and more close encounter (s) can be found here.
You can follow Christiaan on Instagram here: @jpcvanheijst
Emirates President Sir Tim Clark earlier this month was very critical of Boeing and the delays in the certification of the 777X.
Mr. Clark will be hoping that not only will the 777X wow the crowd at the Dubai Air Show but Boeing management will wow Emirates – the 777Xs biggest customer – with concrete plans for its certification.
That certification process has been upended after the tragic 737 MAX crashes.
In June the US safety regulator, the FAA, told Boeing that the 777X will not be certified till late 2023.
In a letter, revealed by the Seattle Times, the FAA rejected the company’s request to issue a Type Inspection Authorization Readiness saying “the aircraft is not yet ready for TIA.”
This followed the FAA telling Boeing to address various problems, including flight control software that apparently triggered the plane to pitch abruptly without pilots’ input during a December 2020 test flight.
The late 2023 certification timeline is in line with Boeing’s advice to the market given by Chief Executive Dave Calhoun.
A Boeing spokeswoman told CNBC at the time that the company “remains fully focused on safety as our highest priority throughout 777X development. As we subject the airplane to a comprehensive test program to demonstrate its safety and reliability, we are working through a rigorous development process to ensure we meet all applicable requirements.”
Boeing installed a major software upgrade on the four test aircraft to address a series of problems including the software fix for the un-commanded pitch event that occurred on December 8, 2020.
Pratt & Whitney will develop a hybrid-electric flight demonstrator in partnership with De Havilland Canada, Collins Aerospace, and the Canadian government.
Aviation accounts for 2-3 percent of the world’s global CO2 emissions, far lower than many other industries.
But as electric power generation and the car industry shift to renewable energy sources, aviation’s share of CO2 emissions in total percentage terms could increase unless the aviation industry develops solutions to help airlines further improve their fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.
It is clear there will be no ‘silver bullet’ for overcoming the enormous challenges the aviation industry needs to overcome to reduce CO2 emissions.
Instead, we need to pursue a range of different technology solutions for different applications.
We [Pratt & Whitney] pioneered the Geared Turbofan (GTF), which allows the latest generation of single-aisle aircraft to be up to 20% more efficient than prior-generation propulsion systems. We see a clear path to further enhancing the GTF engine’s propulsive efficiency, while utilizing new materials, such as ceramic matrix composites (CMC), to improve thermal efficiency.
We are also looking at further optimizing gas turbine efficiency using hybrid-electric technologies, spanning regional turboprops to single-aisle aircraft.
Pratt & Whitney’s Geoff Hunt
Pratt & Whitney is integrating hybrid-electric technology into a flight demonstrator and is targeting a 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to today’s most advanced turboprops.
Electrification is a rapidly developing field and maturing the technology for smaller applications such as regional turboprops will ultimately spill over to larger-scale turbofan engines.
Improving the efficiency of propulsion systems is at the core of what we do, but it is still only part of the equation to achieving our industry’s decarbonization goals; the other key ingredient is using cleaner, more sustainable fuels.
Developed from a variety of non-fossil fuel-based feedstocks, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) have a critical role to play in reducing aviation’s net emissions. They are a “drop-in” solution that is already compatible with today’s aircraft and infrastructure and, therefore, offer the best route to decarbonizing the tens of thousands of aircraft flying today and in the coming decades.
We have been closely involved in SAF testing for over a decade and supported industry regulators in devising the standards that allow SAF to be used today at blends of up to 50 percent with standard Jet-A fuel. We’ve tested blends of 100 percent on PW600 and GTF engines and continue to advance standards for making our engines 100 percent SAF-ready in the future.
As an engine maker, our technical challenge on 100 percent SAF is relatively modest compared to the more pressing issue of SAF supply and infrastructure. SAF accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the fuel used by commercial aircraft today.
SAF production must be drastically and urgently scaled up, while the cost per gallon must also be reduced. Fortunately, momentum is building in that direction, with governments in the USA and Europe establishing a range of policies – from tax incentives to investment stimulus – which will help create the best conditions for demand and supply.
Besides SAF, we are also looking at alternative, zero-carbon fuels, especially hydrogen.
It is an amazingly energy-rich fuel, whose properties we are very familiar with. As early as the 1950s, Pratt & Whitney developed hydrogen-burning engines as part of a top-secret, Lockheed Martin Skunkworks project to build a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
Even back then, we were aware of the challenges of hydrogen, which ultimately led to the project’s cancellation. Hydrogen has three times the energy density of kerosene but takes up four times the volume.
To effectively store it, you need to turn it into a liquefied gas at a very low temperature of – 253 degrees Celsius.
As with SAF, a major challenge with hydrogen lies in its supply, both in terms of production and delivery to airports for fueling. To be truly “green”, hydrogen should be derived from renewable energy sources. But nearly all the hydrogen produced today is considered “brown”, as it is produced from fossil fuel sources. If you were to use 90 percent of today’s global hydrogen production, you would only have enough to power about 10 percent of the commercial aircraft fleet.
The challenges are great, but we will not be deterred from the ultimate goal.
It is clear that our industry, from airlines to manufacturers, is stepping up to the challenge and are determined to make sustainable aviation a reality.
Not letting the pandemic go to waste, Delta updated its Airbus A330 and Boeing 767-300 fleet with the Delta Select cabin previously focussed on long-haul trans-Pacific flights. Both fleets are also getting refreshed lavatories and new LED cabin lighting.
The Delta Premium Select cabin. Photo: Delta.
Passengers in the cabin get the usual perks associated with premium economy such as more legroom in a wider seat with a deeper recline and an adjustable footrest and leg rest. They also get bigger seatback screens, an amenity kit, noise-canceling headphones, a blanket and a pillow.
The airline says it plans to operate up to 73 daily flights “across the pond” to 25 destinations from 10 US gateway cities.
When partners Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic are included, that expands to 21 US cities with connectivity to 186 destinations throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India.
Six additional nonstop destinations will see service returning in the northern summer to Brussels, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Munich, Prague and Zurich.
Delta will operate up to 29 daily flights to 23 trans-Atlantic destinations from its hub at New York JFK airport. From Boston, there will be up to 10 daily flights to nine Trans-Atlantic destinations.
The US carrier will also restore trans-Atlantic service to three key U.S. markets: Portland to Amsterdam on May 3 as well as Cincinnati and Raleigh-Durham to Paris on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3, respectively.
“We’re focused on bringing back the routes and destinations our customers love, so they enjoy easy, convenient access to a comprehensive, far-reaching network throughout Europe and its neighboring regions,” said Delta senior vice president network planning Joe Esposito.
“With the lifting of restrictions to the U.S. and abroad, plus growing vaccination rates and tremendous pent-up demand, travel to Europe is expected to surge next summer – and Delta customers are assured to enjoy every moment from curb to claim.”
The Northeast Alliance (NEA) is continuing its controversial rollout, introducing lie-flat seats on all intercontinental flights from New York and Boston next month.
Partners JetBlue and American Airlines remain defiant in the face of a US Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit seeking to end a deal, signed in the last days of the Trump administration, allowing them to coordinate schedules at Boston Logan, New York JFK and New York LaGuardia airports.
The DOJ has teamed with attorneys general in six states and the District of Columbia to fight the alliance on competition grounds.
The department alleges the deal will eliminate important competition in the cities involved and harm air travelers by weakening JetBlue’s incentive to compete with American in other areas of the US. It also says the alliance consolidates an already highly concentrated industry.
The airlines argue they are providing competition in a region historically dominated by rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
In the latest NEA announcement, American said customers would experience the full benefits of the alliance next year when it would provide the most flights in dozens of markets from New York and Boston, lie-flat seats on all American and JetBlue transcontinental routes from the cities and “a robust international network”.
This included access to almost 60 markets from New York and more than 48 from Boston as well as 18 new international routes launched or planned to meet market demand.
“The NEA is open for business, providing customers the most frequencies in New York, the best routes across key business markets and reciprocal status benefits,” American chief revenue officer Vasu Raja said.
“With lie-flat seats offered in all transcontinental markets and a robust international network that includes the launch of 10 new routes, the NEA is spurring competition in New York and transforming travel beyond the northeast.”
American said it will launch a new fare product called Main Select next year in key business markets.
This would provide refundable fares, priority boarding, priority check-in, free same-day flight changes and the choice of all seats in the main at time of booking, including Main Cabin Extra.
The introduction will see American retire its existing Shuttle product on select routes in the US Northeast.
“We are revamping the high-frequency travel experience to meet the needs of today’s business customers,” Raja said. “That means creating an easy and seamless travel experience that has the amenities they want, the flexibility they need and a network that offers access to any destination they want to go.”
Rising fuel costs are casting a shadow over the airline industry’s recovery despite figures showing the pressure on global airline profitability eased in the third quarter.
The latest Airlines Financial Monitor from the International Air Transport Association shows aggregated airline financial losses in Q3 diminished compared to the previous quarter with some carriers reporting their first profitable quarter since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
A sample of 27 airlines indicated the industry-wide earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin improved to minus 2 percent of revenues in the third quarter, driven by passenger recovery on some domestic and short-haul routes.
But the report said initial financial results indicated passenger revenues were still 34 percent lower in the third quarter than they were in the same period in 2019. This was partly offset by 65 percent rise in cargo revenue but total revenues were still down by 30 percent.
It warned a sharp increase in jet fuel prices was boosting operating costs and represented a risk to a further recovery in profitability in the current quarter.
“Average monthly jet fuel price and Brent crude oil price continued to climb higher in recent weeks, and is currently well above pre-crisis 2019 levels,’’ the report said.
“At the beginning of November, the price per barrel of jet fuel was at US$96.1, up 70% year-to-date.
“Many airlines have been voicing concerns about the impact of rising fuel costs – airlines’ largest operating cost item – on their financial recovery.”
The report noted the fourth quarter tended to a seasonally weaker period for airline passenger revenues and the fuel price increase represented an unwelcome challenge.
The fuel threat was also seen as a factor in a fall in global airline share prices in October. The performance gap between the wider equity markets and airlines widened in the face of a broad-based fall in stock prices across all regions.
The biggest fall between September and October was in North America, where stocks fell by 7.2 percent, while Europe averaged the weakest share price performance for the year with a fall of almost 7 percent year-to-date.
In the Asia-Pacific, stocks in October were down 3.2 percent versus September and 6.5 percent since the start of the year.
“The global airline share price index has been trending sideways at well below pre-pandemic levels throughout most of 2021 amidst uncertainty about pandemic outbreaks and their impact on the air travel recovery,” the report said.
“Indeed, the metric rose by only 1.8 percent year-to-date, compared with a 15.2 percent increase in wider equity markets over the same period.”
AirlineRatings.com Editor Geoffrey Thomas has appeared on Channel 7’s Sunrise on the occasion of the return of the first Qantas A380 after nearly 600 days in the Californian desert.
Mr. Thomas said the A380, named Hudson Fysh, was “a sign that we are moving out of the pandemic as booking for overseas travel surged” since the country was opened up to international destinations.
The first Qantas A380 superjumbo has returned to Australia after more than 600 days hibernating in the United States ✈️ pic.twitter.com/HC3dGwi4Hi
The early return of the A380 comes as the airline gears up for the first two of the superjumbos to return to service in April 2022, following strong demand for international travel, particularly on key routes to Los Angeles and London.
Qantas has taken close to half a million domestic bookings in the past two weeks, compared with around 20,000 in a two-week period in August.
Jetstar’s recent international sale saw 75,000 seats sold in 72 hours.
Demand for seats on Qantas’ London to Sydney service has been extremely strong, with Aussies reuniting with family and friends in time for Christmas and more flights added as a result.
Originally expected to remain in long-term storage in the Californian desert until the end of 2023, Qantas has since announced that five A380s with upgraded cabins would return ahead of schedule with two to operate flights to Los Angeles from April 2022 and three to operate flights to London from November 2022.
The airline is now working to further accelerate the return of the A380s, with superjumbo flights to London brought forward to July 2022. In addition, a sixth aircraft will arrive before the end of the calendar year 2022, with the remaining four A380s expected to return to service by early 2024.
Hudson Fysh will undergo additional maintenance checks in Australia before taking to the skies again in the coming weeks as part of crew training.
Qantas Chief Pilot Captain Richard Tobiano said it was a terrific day, not just for Qantas crew but also passengers who love flying onboard the national carrier’s flagship aircraft.
“The A380 is a fantastic aircraft and we are very excited to welcome it home today. The early return is symbolic of how quickly demand for international travel has bounced back and this aircraft will play a key role in preparing our crew to return to A380 flying operations in the new year.
“Many of our crew have found other jobs during the pandemic doing everything from working in vaccination hubs and hospital wards to driving buses and tractors, and painting houses.
“Over the next few months, pilots will undergo an extensive retraining period including simulator sessions, training flights and classroom courses to prepare for take-off.”
While it wasn’t flying during the pandemic, the aircraft was cared for by Qantas engineers who carried out regular inspections before it flew to Dresden earlier this year.
Six of Qantas’ A380s have had an interior redesign featuring a new premium upper deck with a new supper club-style lounge and brand-new seats across the Business Class and Premium Economy cabins, as well as a main deck refresh including new carpet and curtains. The remaining aircraft will be refitted before they return to service.
The two A350s flying ina formation inspired by mirgrating birds. Photo: Airbus
It may fly like a goose but it’s an Airbus A350 cruising in formation to save tonnes of carbon emissions.
Airbus on Tuesday performed the first long-haul demonstration of formation flying and saved more than six tonnes of CO2 emissions on a trip between its French home of Toulouse and Canada’s Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.
Airbus said the flight confirmed the potential for a fuel saving of more than 5 percent on long-haul flights if aircraft fly in a formation similar to that used by migrating geese.
It also showed the savings could be achieved without compromising safety, it added.
Using a principle seen in the distinctive V formation of large migrating birds, the following aircraft used specially-developed flight control systems to stay in the wake updraft of the proceeding A350.
This allowed it to reduce engine thrust and cut fuel consumption.
The flight was part of the fello’fly demonstrator project launched within subsidiary Airbus UpNext in 2019 to investigate biomimicry, the design and production of materials, structures and systems inspired by nature.
“This demonstration flight is a concrete example of our commitment to making our decarbonization roadmap a reality,” said Airbus chief technical officer Sabine Klauke.
“It also speaks to how collaboration across the industry will be key to making this happen.
“We have received a strong level of support for this project from our airline and air traffic partners, plus regulators.
“The opportunity to get this deployed for passenger aircraft around the middle of this decade is very promising. Imagine the potential if fello’fly was deployed across the industry.”
Pilots from SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Frenchbee were on board to witness the flight, which was made possible through collaboration between Airbus and various air traffic management organizations with the support of French civil aviation authority DGAC.
The flight was met in Montreal by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) officials, with ICAO secretary general Juan Carlos Salazar said it reflected the “incredible diversity of air transport innovations now being realized to meet the sector’s targets and ensure flying becomes more and more sustainable”.
The manufacturer said the next step was to get the support of authorities so the new operational concept could be certified.
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