Airlines

It's controversial, but slogging passengers with a body-weight surcharge is still on the table for many airlines, be it for profit or the environment. But it seems attitudes, particularly among younger travelers, is shifting on the contentious issue.

Aerospace startup Natilus is taking on the biggest players in civil aviation, unveiling its plans to build its Horizon Blended Wing Body (BWB) passenger/cargo liner that can carry 200 passengers from New York to London with 50% lower emissions.

Boom's XB-1 supersonic jet took its fifth test flight last week setting a few new records. The XB-1 is the one-third scale platform that Boom is using for its eventual Overture program aiming to bring back commercial supersonic passenger flight.

Precious few airlines currently offer Bluetooth connectivity from their in-flight entertainment screens – but that's no longer a problem, thanks to a nifty new breed of wireless earbud that connects to anything with a headphone jack.

Let's face it, eating a reheated meal in a cramped coach seat is never going to be a fine-dining experience, but airlines are now looking to new technology to give us more of what we want, ultimately reducing the current shameful amount of food waste.

The first private supersonic aircraft since Concorde retired two decades ago has successfully taken to the skies. On March 22, Boom's XB-1 supersonic demonstrator completed its maiden flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.

Green-energy businessman Dale Vince has revealed plans to set up the UK's first electric aviation company. Ecojet will repurpose conventional aircraft to fly on hydrogen-electric power, with domestic flights planned to start as early as 2025.

GE once thought super-efficient propfans were the future of air travel, until low fuel prices in the late 1980s moved fuel consumption down the list of priorities. Now, it's bringing them back with the CFM Rise, promising 20% fuel savings.

For wheelchair users, air travel can be a cumbersome and frustrating experience. That's where a new type of airliner seat is designed to come in, as it allows passengers to stay in their own wheelchair throughout the flight.

There's precious little human dignity in economy airline travel to begin with; why not go all the way? The HypNap TruRest offers you the opportunity to attempt sleep with your face mashed into a padded cradle, and arrive red, wrinkly and refreshed.

Back in 2020, Delta Air Lines previewed a passenger information system where a number of travelers looking at the same screen would each be served up different views. Now that Parallel Reality technology is flying into Detroit later this month.

Not many folks can claim their office is better traveled than they are. Irish company Aeropods is recycling the fuselages of retired airliners as portable outdoor office and glamping pods with eye-catching exteriors and custom interior fitouts.