One of the things I hate about today’s world is that we take everything for granted. We communicate through light and electricity, fly in metal vehicles, and listen to music recorded decades ago through airwaves—yet everyone is like "whatever." Which is why I love this video of two old women flying for the first time.
Back in 2013, when Istanbul was still competing to host the 2020 Olympics, the city announced plans to build "the world’s largest and busiest airport terminal." The Olympic bid ended up failing—but Istanbul still wants to build its mega-airport.
Supposing your on a US Airways flight and have the United Airways app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch at the end of 2014, you’ll be able to connect … Continue reading
The folks at Patently Apple have acquired information on an upcoming onboard entertainment system coming to United Airlines flights starting next month. The service, upon launch, will be exclusive to … Continue reading
Air travel is a very safe way to travel long distances in a short time, but it is often subjected to turbulence, something that can range from a minor annoyance … Continue reading
As emigration plans go, this one was at least ambitious: a co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Italy hijacked his own plane this morning to try and seek asylum in Switzerland.
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While the Federal Aviation Authority recently changed its regulations to allow passengers to use gadgets more freely
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Wouldn’t it be cool if birds left visible trails behind them, like jets tracing the sky with smoke? That’s exactly the effect of Rhode Island School of Design professor Dennis Hlynsky achieves in his mesmerizing videos posted today at This Is Colossal.
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Today’s remote control vehicles – like the Swann Quad Starship – aren’t like the simple wired-and-one-way cars of the past. What we’ve got now are machines that do just about anything, controlled with your smartphone or remotely, flying, diving, and driving like mad. The Swan Quad Starship only does a few of these things – […]
As of tomorrow, the longest flight in the world will shuttle passengers on a 747-400 from Sydney, Australia to Dallas, Texas. That 15-hour, 25-minute hop on board Qantas 7 may not be the lengthiest in duration, but at 8,578 miles gate to gate, it’ll lead the industry in miles flown. For a few more hours, however, Singapore Airlines’ decade-long run from Newark, N.J., to Singapore remains the record holder for both time (more than 18 hours) and distance (9,534 miles). It’s a journey that’s been on the bucket lists of the world’s most ambitious aviation enthusiasts since the city-state’s namesake airline first launched the service in 2004, and following tonight’s final jaunt, this record-setting A340-500 will touch down at Changi Airport for the very last time.
Despite this cheerless loss, it’s a spectacular time in the world of aviation. Sure, we don’t have our supersonic Concorde replacement just yet, and the Dreamliner rollout was not without significant heartbreak, but the past few years have represented a tremendous period, with banner launches from both Airbus and Boeing that will change the way we fly forever. But as with any category, aircraft manufacturing and design advances also serve to highlight the shortcomings of previous-generation products.
The Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 make massive efficiency boosts a reality, leading gas-guzzling greats like the aging A340-500 to a premature retirement. In this case, the A345’s departure from Singapore’s fleet represents not only better things to come, but also the loss of a landmark route — it’s an unavoidable compromise, and with the end in sight, I drained my frequent flier account in order to score a ticket, and set out to discover the significance of Singapore Flight 21’s retirement.%Gallery-slideshow123017%
Filed under: Transportation
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