Many people dreamt of becoming an astronaut, but what seemed more like a childhood dream is now finally possible! There are many way so experience zero gravity, some give you the opportunity to see earth from space, some other even to take a spacewalk…

But flying charter has its benefits for businesses, especially when two or more passengers are traveling together. Among them is convenience since travelers don’t have to spend hours waiting for their flight. With a charter aircraft, you can easily breeze through airport counters before boarding their flight.

Another advantage for travelers in a private charger is the time required to travel. Many of the aircrafts used in charter flights are the fastest passenger aircrafts in the world. This is the reason why some businesses use charter flights if they have two or more travelers on a very important business trip.

Safety is also another main reason why some businesses opt to fly charter. The threat of terrorism is always there and some businesses want to ensure their employees arrive to a location safely.

Last but not the least; comfort is another reason why some passengers are opting to fly charter. Although they might end up spending more than they should, the on-board amenities easily compensates for the price. Aside from entertainment, passengers can also enjoy a wide variety of food and drinks as well as experience personal assistance from flight attendants because of limited passengers.

The following aircrafts are known for their impressive interiors;

2005 Gulfstream G550

The Gulfstream is one of the best aircraft in the industry because of its speed and fuel economy. However few can ignore the fact that it also features one of the best interiors in the industry. Leather chairs with extended leg space make the interior resemble an office in the air, perfect for luxurious business travellers.

Diamond Seat from Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways is always in the forefront of luxury air travel. The “Diamond Seat” is installed in its Airbus 340-500 featuring a 180-degree rotating chair. This enables the passenger to easily move and talk to other passengers. Attached to the seat is a 23” LCD screen.

BMW and Airbus 350

BMW and Airbus combined their design knowledge in 2006 to create an Airbus 350 with a BMW designed cabin. The BMW interior looks like one of the company’s most luxurious road car interiors mixed with the Airbus classic design cues.

The Flying Palace

Perhaps the most luxurious plane ever built is the Airbus A380 Flying Palace owned by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. The plane comes with a state room, a small concert hall and even a Turkish bath. There’s also king size beds for passengers. It is said that the aircraft costs more than $450 million.

But even though aircrafts are relatively fast compared to cars and boats, some aircraft manufacturers push the boundary on speed to get their passengers to their intended destination faster.

Gulfstream G450

The Gulfstream G450 is all about speed, improved vision and control. Featuring Mach 0.80 speed, the aircraft also has the capacity to land in low visibility conditions. It comes with an infrared camera in the front with display in the cockpit for additional vision.

Gulfstream G500

The G500 has the maximum speed of Mach 0.885. It’s the predecessor of G450 which quickly became an option for developing markets who wanted something fast as well as relatively affordable.

Gulfstream G550

The features of G550 and G500 are almost the same especially on the speed. However, the G550 has some improvements on fuel consumption because of the lesser drag. It also comes with additional features such as ability to land in low visibility conditions and “PlaneView” cockpit.

Falcon 7X

With 953km/h maximum speed, the Falcon 7x is one of the most popular business-type passenger jets in the world. It features the “Fly-by-Wire” technology which improves automatic control of the aircraft while on air.

Cessna Citation X

The fastest passenger jet in the world has the maximum speed of Mach 0.92. It’s also a long range aircraft which means it can stay on air for hours in order to take their passengers anywhere around the world faster. The revolutionary design of the aircraft especially on drag and addition of winglets improved its speed and performance.

The survey found that nearly 40% of the UK’s small businesses are planning to cut both travel and advertising budgets. Opus Energy and YouGov polled over 500 small business owners to discover how they were fighting the recession. The survey also found that large companies are more likely to cut staff bonuses. 33% of the big businesses surveyed said that employee bonuses would be the first area they would rein in.

Interestingly the survey found that the area companies were not willing to reduce their budget for was IT. The results also highlighted that the second least likely area to face budget cuts were staff perks, including tea, coffee, biscuits and entertainment.

Opus Energy’s Operations Director Andy Nash stated that while some value can be had from trimming a company’s excess spending, it is surprising to find that utility bills are not high on the list. 3% of small organisations said they would review their electricity and gas bills to see if there were ways to make savings. Research by the Carbon Trust has found that energy efficiency in the workplace could help businesses save more than 12% on their bills. Opus Energy believes this is an area that impacts a business’s bottom line and appears to be widely overlooked.

Have you seen a reduction in business flights at your company while the UK is in a recession?

Keeping Everything Fresh and Hot

When it comes to fresh and hot meals, Cathay Pacific is considered the leader. With toasters and rice cookers on board, travelers are assured that their meals are hot and easily enjoyable. A large selection of fruits and wines perfectly complements every meal.

From Business to Economy

Although most airlines serve their best meals to business class travelers, there are airline companies that ensure everyone on board enjoys a top standard of food. Singapore Airlines is known for serving the best meals for all class of traveler. They employ international chefs and wine tasters to ensure that they provide only top food and drink for everybody on their flight to Singapore and other destinations worldwide. It has even been mentioned that Chef Gordon Ramsey at one point during his career was part of Singapore Airlines.

Wide Variety of Choices

One of the most popular airlines in the world when it comes to variety is Turkish Airlines. Mediterranean meals are always expected from the airline but passengers can also request very specific meals such as Hindu food especially on their flights to and from India.

Sheremetyevo International airport in Moscow, Russia, is taking a step further when it comes to checking-in at the airport. Aside from the ability to check-in online, passengers boarding through Sheremetyevo International can use their Skype account to check-in before the flight. It’s a highly revolutionary method of checking-in since passengers don’t have to go through their airline’s online check-in feature. Everything could be done with their existing Skype account.

For the unfamiliar, Skype is regarded as the biggest VOIP provider in the world since they offer free Skype-to-Skype video calls via instant messaging. They also provide local phone number in major counties for consumers and businesses anywhere in the world. Many online users are now using Skype as their alternative landline as they usually rely in their mobile phones for communication.

“So why Skype?” was my first reaction to the news. To properly check-in using Skype, passengers should conduct a video call to username “svo_skype”. They will be interviewed to determine their flight times and tickets. Passengers are given up to 24 hours to Skype-in before the flight.

The main advantage of Skype video call is the fact that passengers can easily check-in through their mobile phones. With this technology, airport authorities in Moscow believe that it will reduce passenger traffic in the airport by at least 15%.

Brazil is an early pioneer of alternative fuel and the world’s second largest producer of ethanol fuel, after the US. Ethonal fuel is surprisingly the same type of alcohol we consume to get drunk, but in this case used as a motor fuel. Brazil’s successful biofuels economy serves as the perfect example to those that are still sceptical with regards to the feasibility and sustainability of alternative energy.

Since 1976, Brazil’s government made it mandatory to mix ethanol with gasoline. In 2003, flexible fuel vehicles were introduced in the market and they became an instant success.  of the first successful biofuels economy.

The proposal to use alternative sources for jet fuel is a joint collaboration from private companies and government. Airbus, Boeing and TAM Airlines are in the forefront of the proposal as well as funding. The project is undertaken by SG Biofuels – a California based company known for their extensive research and development of alternative energy sources.

The early stages of development are already promising as the alternative jet fuel is feasible and can adapt to the demands of the different types of jet engines. The current challenge for the companies that pushes alternative jet fuel is on its commercialization. It’s an impressive technology as it could save the environment but companies have to deal with commercialization process so that each airline could use alternative jet fuel. Although the technology already exists, funding for full commercialization is still limited. This could significantly slow down full adoption of alternative jet fuel in Latin America and worldwide.

Just like Brazil, other Latin American countries are making significant progress in the adoption of alternative and renewable source of biofuels. Mexico is also heavily investing in research and development for alternative source of energy. While Brazil is known for their aggressive development of sugar cane as alternative source of energy, Mexico is also developing the plant “jatropha” as a viable source of fuel.

While almost every airline company has something to offer in the entertainment area, only a few of them stand out and provide the best in the industry. Often you will only find basic entertainment package such as movies, films and music but there are a few airlines that push the boundaries of entertainment.

Virgin America RED

Sir Richard Branson is well known for his aggressive and innovative style in attracting passengers to his airline. The entertainment system of Virgin America RED is a testament to how he can push the boundary in every industry. His RED features on-board chat system which means you can chat with other passengers on the aircraft. There’s also direct connection to satellite TV and they also have a computer server on-board that can instantly stream movies. The passengers all use on-board touch screen interfaces.

Emirates ICE

Another leader in the industry when it comes to entertainment, Emirates ICE consistently receives impressive reviews from passengers and industry experts. ICE features more than 1,200 films on board and passengers able to enjoy large entertainment through a touchscreen interface – even on economy flights. First class passengers enjoy large screen television with a separate touch screen remote for additional entertainment options.

All About Emission Control

Going green has nearly become a mandate for every airline carrier and the 787 Dreamliner is currently the leader in emission control. Fuel consumption is reduced by as much as 20% compared to past models and emission is also reduced at the same rate. Fuel consumption is remarkably less than its predecessor thanks to its lightweight feature. The 787 is five tons lighter than its best competitor the A330-20 by Airbus.

Smooth Ride Inside and Out

The 787 Dreamliner comes with a really smart stability system. Handling air pockets that causes turbulence is now a lot easier thanks to the sensor system installed in the aircrafts nose. The sensor will detect the air pockets which will respond by sending commands to smoothen the ride even during turbulence. From the outside, the noise level of the 787 Dreamliner will be reduced by as much as 60% during landing and takeoff.

More Features

The latest aircraft by Boeing will also feature larger windows. The new windows will be 65% larger than the regulation aircraft window and it will feature lighting controls instead of the traditional shades. Another noteworthy feature is its speed which maxes out at 903kmh or Mach 0.85. The aircraft will come with capacity of up to 290 passengers depending on version.