What’s the future of ultra-long haul travel? For Elon Musk, commercial passenger flights on the Starship rocket could connect pretty much anywhere on earth in less than an hour. That presents all sorts of interesting options for connecting cultures and people across the globe.
Airplanes and Airports
Mesa looks to the sea for its next electric regional aviation adventure
To say that Mesa Airlines expects its operations to look dramatically different at the end of this decade would be a significant understatement. The company’s third electric aircraft deal, signed last week, could be the most interesting, as it takes on planes that are not exactly planes, with notable differences in the regulatory environment.
Frontier, Spirit announce plans to merge
Frontier Airlines and Sprit Airlines intend to merge, creating a new 5th largest airline in the US.
Boom building at Greensboro, new environmental concerns revealed
Boom Supersonic announced plans for a “Superfactory in North Carolina to build its flagship Overture aircraft. Against the backdrop of this progress, however, come new challenges for the company.
Play adds Stewart for a New York connection
Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY could end the year with a pair of international airlines as Iceland’s PLAY announces plans to operate this summer. That’s a huge boost for the NYC alternate.
Alitalia branding to fly again
Alitalia appears poised to return from the dead. Again. ITA Airways indicated the legacy branding will return to service.
Breeze puts A220 flights on sale
Looking to grab a ride on the brand new A220s from Breeze? The company loaded its initial plans for the planes, though not the longer-haul routes where the aircraft will truly shine.
Northern Pacific unveils aircraft, addresses service launch challenges
Can a pretty new paint scheme make the difference for Northern Pacific as it pushes forward with plans to connect Asia and the Lower 48 via Anchorage? Probably not, but the plane still looks good and CEO Rob McKinney is talking up the plans in more detail now.
Norse Atlantic secures initial US operating authority
Norwegian startup Norse Atlantic will soon be able to operate flights to the United States. The carrier received tentative approval from the US Department of Transportation for its requested access to the US market.
Boom fires up the engines on XB-1 supersonic demonstrator
The Boom Supersonic XB-1 engines are installed and running. The company released an update on the flight test program progress, including details on the installation and first test runs of the three General Electric J85 engines on board.