Is this three-deck, zero-emissions super jumbo plane the future of flight?

A vision of Aviation's Future...

Designer and aviation enthusiast Oscar Vinals is slightly addicted to crafting concept planes.

Last year, he came up with the design for the AWWA Sky Whale, a futuristic aircraft that he said would revolutionize green air travel and carry an astonishing 755 passengers. Now, he's bested himself.

With his newest design, the AWWA-QG Progress Eagle, he imagines the future of travel as a triple-decker aircraft with zero carbon emissions.

Rather than relying on traditional fossil fuels, the plane (which he envisions taking to the skies in 2030) would rely on six hydrogen engines to lift the plane off the ground. The aircraft would also be fitted with a rear engine that would double as a wind turbine, and solar panels on the roof and wings.

"The best aspect of the Progress Eagle would be its capacity to generate its own energy," says Vinals. He adds that the flight would also be "noiseless."

Vinals also envisions the plane, which would carry up to 800 passengers (275 more passengers than the largest aircraft today could handle), would have a new passenger class in the front of the plane.

The "pilot class" would have panoramic views. There would even be the potential for private rooms, shops and restaurants.

"Twelve hours in an airplane could feel more like a select hotel," says Vials. "It would reduce the stress of a long flight."

At the moment, the concept is little more than, well, a concept. Vinals acknowledges that the technology needed to implement his design is still a ways off.

World's largest passenger plane lands at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - The world's largest passenger aircraft landed at the Ninoy Aquino

International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday night and was welcomed by President Benigno Aquino III.
Footage from Radio and TV Malacañang (RTVM) showed Aquino inside the NAIA Terminal 3 as the Emirates Airbus A380 arrived from Dubai past 10 p.m.
The President later talked to officials of Emirates Airline. In an earlier post on its official Facebook page, Emirates said it took its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft to Manila to celebrate the airline's move to the international terminal.
Based on the RTVM footage, the Airbus A380 was given a water cannon salute while Aquino met the plane's Filipino pilot, Capt. Franklyn Desiderio, 
 

Capt. Franklyn Desiderio

According to television reports, Aquino also welcomed the passengers of world's largest plane and observed the operations of the Terminal 3.

The A380's landed at the NAIA after the country's main gateway was named by US website The Cheat Sheet as among the world's worst airport.

“This Manila-based airport struggles with the 32 million passengers who use its facility each year. That shouldn’t come as a shock, though, considering it only has the capacity for six million passengers, according to CNBC,” it said.

World's Largest Passenger Plane Lands at DFW

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Qantas is putting the world's biggest passenger plane on the world's longest airline route.

Image by: Dailymail UK

A Qantas Airbus A380 touched down Monday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport about 15 hours after leaving Sydney, Australia, on the 8,578-mile journey.
The double-deck, four-engine jet was greeted with a water-cannon salute, then taxied to a two-story gate that was configured just for the behemoth.
The inaugural flight carried a full load of 484 passengers, according to a Qantas spokesman.
DFW is a large airport with connecting flights throughout the U.S. and Latin America, making it ideal for the plane and the route. But the A380's size also limits its appeal. Smaller planes such as Boeing's latest, the 787, are more economical on many routes.
Qantas previously flew the Sydney-Dallas route with the Boeing 747, which required a stopover in Brisbane, Australia.

Image by: Dailymail UK

"The 747 served us really well, but it doesn't have the range of the A380," said Qantas Senior Executive Vice President Vanessa Hudson. "The A380 is much bigger, so we can actually now provide 10 percent additional capacity."

For travelers wishing to fly the new route, it won't be cheap. Hudson said tickets are roughly $1,900 in economy; double that for the roomier seats in premium economy; $7,000 for business class; and $12,000 to $13,000 for first class, where the airline tosses in a set of pajamas and a sheepskin mattress.
The special A380 gate at DFW will be used again on Wednesday, when Gulf airline Emirates begins flying the huge plane between Dallas and Dubai.

 

Via: Dailymail UK

Iranian Plane Crashes After Takeoff, Killing 39

A passenger plane has crashed on the outskirts of Iran's capital Tehran, killing at least 39 people and injuring nine others, government officials and state media. 

IRNA news agency said the Sepahan Airlines plane, bound for Iran's eastern city of Tabas, crashed shortly after takeoff from Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning.

A total of 48 people, 40 passengers and eight crew members, were on board when the plane crashed in the residential area of Azadi town, just five km to the west of Tehran, IRINN state TV said.

Image by: BBC

State media had reported earlier that all 48 people on board had died.

Failure in one of the plane's engines caused the plane to crash on the northern side of the Tehran-Karaj highway, semi-official Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Ilkhani, the head of Iran Airports Company, as saying.

The plane crashed into the Azad residential block on Mina 6 Boulevard, state news agency IRNA reported. State television said at least three people in the area were taken to hospital with burns.

The Antonov-140 type plane crashed at 9:18am (04:48 GMT). IRNA's English website had earlier reported it was a Taban Airline jet.

Mehrabad is located in a western suburb of Tehran and mainly functions as a domestic airport.

A local resident, Hosseine, who witnessed the catastrophe said the rear end of the airplane fell onto the central street after the plan lost control.

Image by: BBC

"I saw the airplane falling down gradually and then began to wobble until it lost control. The rear end of the plane, which is separated from the fuselage, fell onto the middle of the street. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic nor many people on the street," the witness said.

Iran has suffered a series of aeroplane crashes, blamed on its ageing aircraft and poor maintenance.

US and Western sanctions prevent Iran from updating its American aircraft and make it difficult to get European spare parts or planes as well.

The country has come to rely on Russian aircraft, many of them Soviet-era planes that are harder to get parts for since the Soviet Union's fall.

The last major airliner crash in Iran happened in January 2011, when an Iran Air Boeing 727 broke to pieces on impact while trying an emergency landing in a snowstorm in the northwestern city of Urmia, killing at least 77 people.

In July 2009, a Russian-made jetliner crashed in northwest Iran shortly after taking off from the capital, killing all 168 on board.

In February 2003, a Russian-made Ilyushin-76 carrying members of the Revolutionary Guard crashed in the mountains of southeastern Iran, killing 302 people aboard.

Cebu Pacific Air joins shark fin ban

The Philippines' largest airline Cebu Pacific said Wednesday it has ceased carrying shark fins,

Image by: WorldAirlinenews

becoming the latest carrier to impose a ban as part of global conservation efforts.

"We are banning shark fin carriage effective immediately as we learned that unsustainable shark fishing and our carriage of shark fin is not aligned with (our) position on sustainable development," the airline said in a statement.

The carrier, controlled by the Gokongwei family, an ethnic Chinese clan with interests in food processing, real estate and banking, also it would no longer serve shark fin soup in its corporate events.

Cebu Pacific, the country's largest airline in terms of number of passengers carried, becomes the second Filipino carrier to ban shark fin shipments following a similar decision by rival Philippine Airlines in April.

Several airlines have announced they would no longer transport shark fins in recent years, following a global campaign to stop the consumption of the controversial foodstuff.

The fins are traditionally used in expensive Chinese soups and served at important events.

Conservationists warn that the demand for shark fins has led to overfishing, with many shark species now considered endangered.