Boom: supersonic aircraft coming back with a bang Supersonic aircraft are back in planning with news that not only are Nasa in the game to design a "low boom" aircraft, but so too are Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Richard Branson. The race for the next generation of supersonic aircraft that will take you from London to New York in 3½ hours is on. Branson's Spaceship Company has partnered with former Amazon executive Blake Scholl in developing a new jet called Boom. Scholl claims that Boom will be able to offer transatlantic flights from $5,000 return and cruise at 60,000ft feet at speeds of 1,451mph, a shade faster than Concorde. New York the big winner with all those extra flights Summer season timetables began this week with increased services to lots of destinations, making life more connected for road warriors.
New York will be a winner with over 40 flights each way every week with Aer Lingus, Delta and United. United's second daily service will operate all year around from May 26th except on Tuesdays. Aer Lingus are bringing back the early-out, same-day-back service for June -August, EI102/103.
Delta's Atlanta daily service is also back.
Views from the loos at Birmingham hotel The Park Regis hotel which opened in Birmingham this week boasts of loos with a view. The men's urinals on the 16th floor will have views over the skyline of Brummie, not the most interesting of cities.
They are a bit behind the Standard in New York, where the loos of the ladies boast a view from the throne across the city; there’s a modesty curtain if you prefer to maintain some decorum.
American Airlines opts for profit-sharing It must have been the news that Delta employees were going to share $1.5 billion profits that tipped American Airlines back into a profit-sharing programme. The airline has not had a profit-sharing programme for years due to no profits. From next year the 100,000 employees below certain management positions will benefit from a 5 per cent share of pre-tax profits.
"Although we continue to believe the most effective way to increase compensation is through higher base pay, we recognise that there is a team-building component to profit-sharing," said Doug Parker, chief executive.