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Virgin to use eco-friendly jet fuel on commercial flight this October
Virgin Atlantic is about conduct a real-world test of its greener jet fuel. The airline plans to use LanzaTech's sustainable fuel for the first time in a commercial flight this October, with a Boeing 747 relying on the low-carbon liquid for a trip from Orlando to London's Gatwick airport. The journey will both "raise awareness" for the more environmentally friendly technology and show that it's viable for more than just experimental flights.
Virgin Atlantic turned industrial waste into greener jet fuel
Illinois-based LanzaTech and Virgin Atlantic have been working on an alternative fuel source for Sir Richard Branson's flagship airline since 2011. This week, the two companies announced a breakthrough that could drastically reduce the airline industry's carbon emissions. LanzaTech has produced 1,500 US gallons of jet fuel derived from the industrial gases given off by steel mills.
UK pilot union wants laser pens classified as offensive weapons
Following an incident on Sunday in which a New York-bound Virgin Atlantic flight out of Heathrow had to be diverted when the first officer was blinded by a laser beam, the British Airline Pilots Association has called for the devices to be reclassified as offensive weapons. "This is not an isolated incident," British Airline Pilots Association's general secretary Jim McAuslan told BBC News. "Aircraft are attacked with lasers at an alarming rate and with lasers with ever-increasing strength."
Sony will equip Virgin Atlantic engineers with its wearables
Who'd ever be dorky enough to wear a smartglass and a smartwatch at the same time? Virgin Atlantic employees, apparently. The company has partnered with Sony to equip its plane engineers at Heathrow Airport with the Sony SmartWatch 3 and the SmartEyeglass Developer Edition SED-E1 for the next few months, starting next week. This, by the way, comes a year after Virgin had its ground crew from the same airport wear both a Sony Smartwatch 2 and a Google Glass to greet Upper Class passengers by name. According to Sony, the engineers will use the smartglass to stream real-time videos to technicians to speed up technical assistance. The smartwatch, on the other hand, will notify them of job allocations and any changes they should know of.
Virgin Atlantic tries greeting its passengers using wearable tech
Forget tablets in the airplane cabin -- Virgin Atlantic thinks wearables are where it's at for improving your travel experience. The airline has begun trialing a greeting system that uses Google Glass and Sony's Smartwatch 2 to streamline the airport check-in process for Upper Class passengers. Staff at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3 are using the technology to greet travelers by name, provide flight updates and translate any foreign language information. The test run will only last six weeks, but Virgin already has dreams of future software that lets staff know what food you like. Let's just hope that any potential wide-scale rollout accommodates those of us in the cheap seats.
Nokia brings wireless charging to Virgin Atlantic lounges, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Nokia thinks you'll like the wireless phone charging on your Lumia 920 or 820 enough to want to take it on the road, and to that end it's striking a deal to bring the cable-free experience beyond the home. Both Virgin Atlantic's lounge at Heathrow Airport and countertops at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in the US will let you top up your Windows Phone without having to hunt for a power outlet. We're still waiting on details like the timing, but we're glad to know that we won't have to lug around our FatBoy Recharge Pillows just to keep living in Nokia's vision of the future.
Virgin Atlantic launches low-carbon fuel, aims to halve carbon footprint (video)
Richard Branson was in London today to announce "one of the most exciting developments of our lifetime." Right, so that'd be SpaceShipFour, we presume, capable of landing on the moon? No, not quite, but a low-carbon fuel would definitely be our second guess. Virgin Atlantic is partnering with LanzaTech, a company that specializes in carbon re-use technology, to recycle waste gasses from 65 percent of the world's steel mills. In Branson's own words, they'll be "taking much of the s**t from up the chimney stacks and turning it into aviation fuel." By capturing those gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, Virgin would be able to reduce its overall carbon footprint without necessarily reducing the carbon output of its individual aircraft. The airline plans to have the fuel ready for commercial use by 2014, and will begin trials on its routes from London to Shanghai and Delhi around that time -- two cities that have become synonymous with pollution. Jump past the break for an audio-less demonstration video -- that's right, there's nothing wrong with your speakers.
Richard Branson launching Project magazine for iPad
It must be "iPad publishing by billionaires" week but I think they forgot to notify me so I could prepare my own app. British entrepreneur Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic airlines and the burgeoning commercial space travel program Virgin Galactic, will formally announce next Tuesday that he is releasing an iPad-specific digital magazine named "Project." Just the other day media magnate Rupert Murdoch announced his plans for a News Corp iPad app, "The Daily," which is rumored to have a press event introduction on December 9th featuring Mr. Murdoch and Steve Jobs himself. Could the announcement of these two major publications be a foreshadowing of Apple announcing newspaper subscription plans for the iPad? While Virgin has dipped its toes into the app creation business before with Flying Without Fear, "Project" will cover entertainment, travel, business, design, and international culture. Will Virgin Atlantic now replace their seat-back media centers with iPads? Velcro the iPads to passengers to avoid any zero-G incidents during space flight? We'll find out soon enough. [via Engadget]
Virgin's coconut-powered 747 completes first flight
Finally, mankind has the answer to that eternal question, how many coconuts does it take to go from London to Amsterdam? The answer: 150,000 -- converted into biofuel and poured into a special 747, of course. Virgin Atlantic completed its first biofuel tests yesterday with solid results, using a mix of 20 percent coconut oil and 80 percent jet fuel to power a 747 -- a first for the airline industry. There's still a long way to go, of course -- only one of the jet's four tanks carried the alternative fuel, and even Richard Branson admits that giant coconut plantations devoted to airline fuel probably aren't workable -- but despite harsh criticism from skeptics, it's still an impressive achievement. Branson says that although this test didn't use a viable fuel, it's a landmark proof-of-concept -- and that next-generation biofuels made from algae may one day power all our aircraft. Sure, that'd be nice, but we'll stick with tiki-power -- anyone have a drink umbrella?[Via The Register]
Virgin America showcases pimped out aircraft, lobbies for US flights
If you've never heard of Richard Branson before today, you just might become one of his best friends after checking his aircraft. The billionaire in charge of Virgin Atlantic wants to bring the company's "passion for innovation and technology" to America, and while we've seen glimmers of hope for air travel within the States, it seems that VA's alternatives demolish the current US-based offerings (although there's word that the Panasonic eFx system will be hitting US flights in the future). Utilizing a somewhat cheesy lobbyist website, the airline is attempting to garner public support to allow them to reverse the US DOTs decision to disallow VA from taking flight on American soil. But regardless of politics, the real news here is the plane's interior; first class riders get a plush, leather seating area with a flipout LCD, while "normal" passengers still get a fairly comfy looking chair and a seat-mounted 9-inch touchscreen LCD. Moreover, each passenger gets their own 110-volt power outlet (adapters, be gone!), USB port, and Ethernet jack. The VA-engineered RED in-flight entertainment system only rivals SIA's KrisWorld system, and delivers music, gaming, movies, and even food choices right to your screen. While some may find this tough to believe, you'll even encounter a full QWERTY keyboard, live TV via Dish Network, on-board email / IM / chat, the ability to create playlists and transfer them to connecting flights, and pretty much anything else you'd need to not want to ever reach your destination. So if you're interested in helping Mr. Branson make a few more billion, and would like to fly the friendly skies in complete and total geek heaven, be sure to hit the read link to vouch your opinion, and click on through for a YouTube demonstration of all the aforementioned niceties.[Via NewTeeVee]
Virgin Atlantic revises complete Dell, Apple laptop ban
Virgin Atlantic has altered its sweeping policy of banning all Inspiron, Latitude, iBook, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro batteries from its flights, saying "If the battery is identified as being from the affected batch as identified by Apple and Dell, the battery must be removed. In cabins where the seats are fitted with In Seat Power Supplies, leads/adapters will be offered. Where no ISPS is provided or no laptop leads/adapters are available, the use of these affected laptops is prohibited." No word yet on whether Qantas or Korean Air has gotten the memo that it doesn't need to forbid every Dell laptop under the sun on their flights as well. But we've yet to hear of airlines banning Panasonic, Toshiba, and IBM laptops -- something that may be coming sooner than you think, if someone doesn't figure out pretty fast what the devil is going on.
Virgin bans Dell, Apple batteries on flights
Hoo boy, the fun just doesn't end with this little Sony/Dell/Apple battery fiasco, does it? Virgin Atlantic is now the third airline to take issue with Sony's exploding batteries, and is playing it safe by requiring the removal of batteries from all Inspiron, Latitude, iBook, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. Of course, that includes a wide swath of laptops that aren't affected at all by the recall, but them's the breaks. Virgin was gracious enough to allow laptop use without a battery -- if you're lucky enough to sit close enough to an in-seat power supply -- but otherwise users of two of the most popular brands in laptops had better bring a book or prepare to acquaint themselves well with a few in-flight magazines.
Virgin tries text Q&A for in-flight spunk
If you're in the 99+ percent of folks on non-WiFi-enabled flights, and are well aware that cellphone use while in-air is probably coming later rather than sooner, Virgin Atlantic is hoping to grab your attention. As airlines helplessly grasp at off-the-wall gimmicks to acquire more non-ticket sales and provide a more luxurious and exciting experience to the customer, Virgin seems to think it has a hit on its hands. The London-based company has stated its plans to introduce the "world's first in-flight texting service," that has nothing at all to do with SMS; rather, passengers will be able to text any fathomable question from their seat-back television screen to an existing "land-based text answer service" that supposedly will answer any queries "within minutes" -- not a bad feature to have if trying to brush on a language before arriving in a foreign country or scouting out the nearest Engadget reader meetup. The company has suggested interrogations could arise about popular entertainment in cities, how to survive jetlag, or cabin conversation starters. While there may be more thrilling ways to get to your destination, sometimes a good 'ole fashion plane ride is inevitable, but at least Virgin's Q&A game can help you ignore your boredom (or the awful in-flight movie) when flying the friendly skies.
Virgin installing telemedicine systems in every plane
Air travel is about to get just a little bit safer -- though not in the anti-terrorist, heavy-handed security type of way -- thanks to Virgin Atlantic's impending fleet-wide rollout of a device that allows ground-based doctors to remotely diagnose passengers in medical distress. The airline has just announced a deal with Remote Diagnostic Technologies that will result in each of Virgin's planes being outfitted with the Tempus telemedicine system, which contains blood pressure and pulse monitors along with an integrated video cam, and transmits data down to medical personnel via the on-board telephone system. Flight crews will be trained to independently operate each of Tempus' individual instruments, but unlike the in-flight defibrillators that preceded this system, attendants will have the added benefit of live instructions from experts on the ground, if necessary. Virgin will employ the Tempus boxes until at least 2009, and claims that it would like to eventually see an industry-wide implementation, which RDT probably wouldn't mind too much either.[Via MedGadget]
