Posted by Joshua Plave on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 @ 09:27 AM
While some like to kick back and relax while travelling, others like to make the most of their time in transit. For the latter group, Aircell proposes the latest innovation in getting-things-done-on-the-fly: the Aircell Smartphone.
Running the popular Android OS, the new smartphone will have a familiar look with a large 3.8-inch display to assist in usability while lacking any significant learning curve. With backwards compatibility for all Aircell Axxess communication systems including its Gogo Biz service, the Aircell Smartphone will be set to maximize flight potential when it is released in late 2011.
Including all the usual smartphone utilities, ranging from Bluetooth to a headset jack, the phone can also be used in both wired and wireless modes. Aircell even boasts the phone can be picked up and used for the first time without having to read a manual.
With a large screen, oversized call buttons and full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Aircell Smartphone is set to blow open a brand new niche for private jet travel later this year.
Posted by Joshua Plave on Tue, Mar 22, 2011 @ 03:08 PM
Coming on the heels of a visit to America’s aviation-Mecca, otherwise known as Wichita, Kansas, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave his support to the recovering general aviation industry. In front of a crowd of more than 2,000 workers, LaHood announced, “We get it,” LaHood said. “Your industry supports 1.2 million jobs across America. It contributes more than $150 billion to the nation's economy.”
Recognizing the economic value of an industrial-stronghold such as Wichita, the secretary let the crowd know he’d persuade President Barack Obama to come visit workers in the city which is home to Boeing, Cessna Aircraft, Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier, in addition to dozens of suppliers.
As an essential location to the general aviation and private jet industries, Wichita produces more than 40% of all general aviation aircraft in the world. A staggering number, the backing of the Transportation Secretary is critical to the $7 billion economic output that Wichita is currently accounting for. In an attempt to keep this effort up, even improving upon the prowess of the Wichita general aviation scene, LaHood said, “I am proud to stand with you, to work with you and to fight with you to make sure that general aviation ... continues to flourish as the economy picks up.” “You will be one of the leaders in helping the global economy pick up.”
Posted by Joshua Plave on Mon, Mar 21, 2011 @ 08:24 AM
The HA-420 HondaJet is the first aircraft designed and produced by the Honda Motor Company. First conceived in the 90s, the jet made its first flight in 2003. Undergoing many flight testing bumps and delays, Honda redesigned the aircraft and developed a new final-production conforming aircraft which first flew on December 21, 2010.
The HondaJet is an incredibly unique aircraft with a variety of technological advancements being included in the design. With an all-composite body, the fuselage is extremely lightweight, cutting down on fuel costs and environmental impact. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the light business jet is the over-the-wing podded engine configuration. Although an extremely atypical design, Honda chose this feature in order to increase room within the cabin and decrease overall noise heard by passengers.
Currently undergoing flight testing and FAA certification processes, the HondaJet will begin deliveries in 2012. Accommodating four passengers in club seating, the HondaJet boasts a fully private lavatory with a class-best 66 cubic feet of external baggage storage. With approximately 70 frames being made per year when production ramps up, look for the HondaJet to be a big player in the very light jet category in years to come.
Posted by Joshua Plave on Fri, Mar 11, 2011 @ 09:48 AM
Reuters
At 2:46pm local time, a huge 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan, causing a massive tsunami and fires in over 80 locations. With an epicenter just 231 miles from Tokyo, the earthquake, which was the largest in 100 years in Japan, has caused mass destruction to the country’s infrastructure. With over 30 aftershocks following the original quake, with the largest measuring 7.1, the earthquake wreaked havoc over and over.
AP
Causing a sizeable tsunami wave that crashed onto the shores of Japan, washing away many buildings, cars and hills, the earthquake’s after affects are being felt round the world. With the tsunami racing across the Pacific, warnings have been put out to over 50 countries and territories by the National Weather Service. Beaches have been closed in both Hawaii and Southern California, and all locals have been told to move away from the shoreline. The tsunami is large enough that some believe it can wash over entire islands in the Pacific Ocean.
As the fifth-largest earthquake in the last 100 years, the event has closed down both Tokyo airports, Narita and Haneda, adding to the disruption and panic spread around Japan. Flights to Japan have been cancelled worldwide, causing delays at many airports.
AP
Though the event has yielded strong results in the stock market, with the yen gaining against both the dollar and euro. Ironically, this reaction follows a historical one, where the same case followed after the Kobe earthquake of 1995.
In this difficult time, the thoughts and good-wishes of Magellan Jets are with the people of Japan. We wish them luck in the coming recovery.
For an idea of what the earthquake was like, view the video below, taken in a supermarket.
Posted by Jackie Vincent on Thu, Mar 10, 2011 @ 09:13 AM
A recent poll ranked the high cost of fuel among the American people’s three biggest concerns (along with the economy and high unemployment rates). This statistic is a case of history repeating itself as all five economic downturns since 1973 were either results of or corresponded with a spike in energy costs. Consumers have been pointing fingers when confronted with the fact that fuel prices are at an all-time high.
What people fail to understand is that more often than not, oil companies don't set crude-oil prices; the global market does. Essentially, the market decides what people are willing to pay at a certain moment in time. This can ultimately be attributed to the fact that countries like India and China are growing, which has created more demand for oil and gas. Despite efforts to “go green” in the United States, there has not been any reduction in energy use. The United States has 4% of the world's population, but we consume 25% of the world's oil. This lesson in supply and demand has directly affected the cost of air travel causing fliers to battle with fluctuating ticket prices.
Popular U.S. carries, including Delta, US Airways and American have increased their ticket prices in order to compensate. Prices have been increased 20% or more, which is frustrating consumers across the nation. Today’s outrageous fuel costs have led many once-avid travelers to avoid flying altogether. This does not have to be the solution! Rather than gambling on the fuel markets and uncertainty of the costs of commercial travel, people are recognizing the value found in private jet travel.
Magellan Jets see this opportunity and invites you to capitalize on the Magellan Jets 25 Hour Card – 12 months, no fuel surcharge, guaranteed. Lock in your fixed hourly rate now and be assured that for the next 12 months you will never pay extra for fuel, regardless of any changes in its price. Even with oil prices now sharply on the rise over the next year, know that when you fly privately on the 25 Hour Getaway Card you shield yourself from the extra risk of cultural and economic shifts in our changing world. Experience private travel simplified. Experience Magellan Jets.
Posted by Joshua Plave on Fri, Mar 04, 2011 @ 02:21 PM
What will become the world’s largest airport in terms of passenger capacity, opened for passenger operations this week in Dubai, UAE. Al-Maktoum International Airport, previously known as Jebel Ali and part of Dubai World Central, is now open for general aviation operations.
Officially open for cargo flights since June 27, 2010, the airport now accepts private jets and general aviation flights. Passenger flights are expected to commence at some point within the year.
The $62 billion project, the world’s single most expensive project ever, will include some remarkable features:
- Five parallel runways, 2.8 miles in length, each separated by a distance of 2,600 ft.
- Three passenger terminals, including two luxury facilities; one dedicated to airlines of The Emirates Group, the second to other carriers, and the third dedicated to low cost carriers.
- Six mid-field concourses
- 16 cargo terminals with a 12 million ton capacity
- Executive and Royal jet centers
- Hotels and shopping malls
- A380-sized support and maintenance facilities
- Over 100,000 parking spaces (the largest parking facility in the world)
- High speed express rail system to Dubai International Airport
- Dubai Metro and a dedicated Dubai World Central light railway
The size of Al-Maktoum is somewhat indescribable. For comparison, here is a list of annual airport passenger capacities around the world:
|
|
Name
|
Passenger Capacity
|
|
1st
|
Al-Maktoum
|
120 million
|
|
2nd
|
Atlanta Hartsfield
|
90 million
|
|
3rd
|
London Heathrow
|
90 million
|
|
4th
|
Hong Kong
|
87 million
|
|
5th
|
Amsterdam Schiphol
|
85 million
|
|
6th
|
Dallas-Ft. Worth
|
82 million
|
|
7th
|
Dubai
|
80 million
|
|
8th
|
Shanghai Pudong
|
80 million
|
|
9th
|
Beijing Capital
|
78 million
|
|
10th
|
Los Angeles
|
78 million
|
Posted by Joshua Plave on Wed, Mar 02, 2011 @ 03:55 PM
You knew it was coming. The next “it” gadget from Apple debuted today, as Steve Jobs returned from medical leave this afternoon to debut the new iPad 2. To much fanfare, Jobs sported his usual turtleneck and jeans look to present an emotional keynote speech on the impact the world’s first volume-produced tablet has brought. Coined as “the year of the iPad”, 2010 provided us with the debut of the gadget that blew open the tablet niche. Moving into “2011, the year of the iPad 2”, Jobs explained how the new tablet changes everything, substantially improving upon key features the original version lacked.
With an incredibly thin profile (thinner than the new iPhone 4), and decreased weight, the new iPad 2 will run on a dual core, A5 processor, greatly improving the performance of the already quick tablet series from Apple. Sporting customer’s most requested addition, the iPad2 will have both forward and rear facing cameras, paired alongside FaceTime, allowing users to video chat any FaceTime user on an iPad 2, iPhone or iTouch. Amazingly enough, all these upgrades have been crammed into a smaller, lighter body, while still maintaining an impressive 10 hour battery life. And at the same price points as the older, original iPad, the iPad 2 will be a formidable opponent for the new Motorola Xoom, running on Android.
Additionally, with an intuitive, folding, “smart” cover, the iPad 2’s usability has increased significantly over its predecessors. By propping up the iPad for eased viewing angles and increasingly hands free operations, the magnetic, self-centering cover will help users make the most out of their iPad. And ease of use is great news for any user of the Magellan Jets One Way Leg Search Ap. As expected, O.W.L. Search will work as smoothly as ever on the new iPad 2, as well as the newly announced iOS 4.3. Click here for more information on Magellan Jets’ unique, live-updated O.W.L. Search App.
To watch Steve Jobs' keynote address on the iPad 2, check out the video below:
Posted by Joshua Plave on Wed, Mar 02, 2011 @ 08:53 AM
Throughout Monday and early Tuesday, Bank of America’s online banking service experienced widespread outages. Due to routine system upgrades that occurred over the weekend, the outages affected all customers who had not bookmarked the Bank of America site on their browser.
Unknown though is whether Bank of America anticipated the site issues or was thrown off by them. This proves to be the second time just this year that Bank of America’s online banking system has failed; a similar mid-January outage forced many customers familiar pain.
Performance management company AlertSite reports that Bank of America’s homepage loaded with a response time of approximately 15 seconds on Tuesday, spiking to 90 seconds at times, in comparison to the normal 4.49 seconds the site generally achieves.
Luckily, Bank of America was quick to resolve any issues, as the site was up and fully running by Tuesday afternoon.
Posted by Joshua Plave on Tue, Mar 01, 2011 @ 12:56 PM
Donald Trump may be running for President. He may not be. We really don’t know right now, but we do know that he recently bought a larger 757 for his private jet travel. Late last year, Trump paid approximately $100 million to take Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s jet off his hands. While the price is considered extremely high for a used 757, it is believed that this specific model comes with all kinds of bells and whistles, ranging from a state-of-the-art entertainment system to the most advance flight avionics.
"I bought a great airplane," Trump said. "It's being retrofitted and will be in service in about a month." While few details are known about what is being done to the newly acquired aircraft, many believe it will be adorned with the lavish gold plated features which are currently featured on the 727 Trump has been trying to sell since 2009. Additionally, the plane could very well be painted in Trump’s typical all-black scheme with gold “TRUMP” in billboard across the side.
Unknown though, is the intended use of the new 757. Nearly every presidential candidate in recent years has leased one, as the plane boasts impressive size (to accommodate press and campaign staff), quick speed (for multiple campaign stops each day) and key performance (to take off and land at smaller airports that are far apart). As the prime campaign aircraft, could this be a key indicator that Trump has decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination? Only time will tell, but right now, we know that Donald Trump has the hottest new private jet out there.
Original story via Palm Beach Post.