Boom Supersonic announced the final design selection for its planned Overture supersonic jet. Now sporting four engines mounted on gull wings, as well as a contoured fuselage, company executives announced the revised configuration at the Farnborough International Airshow outside London this week.
emissions
Net Zero by 2050: IATA’s major commitment and challenges
Last week was, generally speaking, a pretty strong showing for emissions concerns in the aviation world. IATA, the industry’s largest global trade group, passed a resolution targeting net zero emissions across their operations by 2050.
AirBaltic rides the NFT hype, minting an emissions mess
Sensing an opportunity to cash in on the hype, Latvian airline AirBaltic is now issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to celebrate its destinations. The company intends the campaign to “serve as a tourism campaign for Latvian cities” with the funds raised a small side benefit. Emissions impact, be damned.
France bans short-haul flights, minimal route impact expected
Short flights are no more in France. A new climate-focused bill is on the path to becoming finalized, and among the new policies is a prohibition on air service for domestic routes that can be served by train in less than 2.5 hours.
Scrapping the North Atlantic tracks thanks to Aireon space-based ADS-B
Controllers are working to scrap the Organized Track Structure routes across the North Atlantic Ocean, ending a decades-long practice of aircraft management in favor of more efficient routings.
Pushing the Single European Sky forward
Europe mostly eliminated borders on the ground, allowing for the smooth passage of people and goods, but in the skies the story is very different. Switching between 37 service providers and 63 ATC centers results in inefficient flight routings, longer trip times, increased delays, and excess fuel burn causing surplus carbon emissions. After years of debate the Single European Sky (SES), addressing these issues, is set to move forward.
Airbus pushes hydrogen as the future of green travel
Airbus has grand plans for a zero emissions commercial aircraft to be carrying passengers by 2035, and hydrogen is the key component. The aircraft manufacturer unveild a trio of concept planes that will displace electric or kerosene-powered models a few decades hence.
Boom Supersonic picks an engine manufacturer (for further discussions)
Should the Boom Supersonic jet take flight later this decade there’s a very strong chance it will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines. While this is not a formal engine model selection it does advance the project and provides further indications as to how the program might take flight.
Austria to implement minimum fares, short flight surcharges
Prices flying in and out of Austria are set to rise. And at least one airline is happy with the news, though expect lawsuits aplenty before the matter is fully settled.
TripIt adds carbon emissions reporting, offset options
TripIt is expanding its travel tracking resources, adding carbon emissions to its suite of trip details.