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Japan teams up with Uber, Airbus and 19 others on flying taxi plan
Japan wants to bring flying taxis into the mainstream over the next decade and it's putting together a government-led group in order to do so, Bloomberg reports. The country's trade ministry said to today that the group will bring together at least 21 businesses including Uber, Boeing, Airbus, Japan Airlines and Toyota-backed Cartivator, which will meet next week to discuss plans going forward. For its part, the government will work on ways to regulate these sorts of vehicles. "The Japanese government will provide appropriate support to help realize the concept of flying cars, such as creation of acceptable rules," the ministry said.
Boom's supersonic jets get $10 million boost from Japan Airlines
Boom's plan to revive supersonic passenger jets just got an important financial boost. The startup has revealed that Japan Airlines is investing $10 million, and that the carrier also has the option of buying up to 20 of the company's faster-than-sound airliners. If it does, that would give Boom a total of 76 pre-orders, making the Concorde seem like a modest experiment. JAL has actually been working with Boom for "well over a year," Boom said, but the investment makes the alliance official.
Apple's new solar-powered campus, and more in the week that was
As the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk is a proponent of clean technology and renewable energy. That's why it's so surprising that Donald Trump has selected Musk to serve as a strategic advisor -- here's hoping Musk can convince the President-elect to take climate change seriously. In other news, Chevrolet just delivered its first batch of Bolt EVs to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area, beating Tesla's Model 3 to the punch. Steven Hawking is working with NASA to launch a self-healing starship that will search for habitable planets in Alpha Centauri. And Japan Airlines has developed a way to transform old clothing into jet fuel.
Gogo goes international, to provide Japan Airlines domestic in-flight WiFi
Gogo, the company known for providing barely usable internet at exorbitant prices on United States domestic and (some) international flights, is partnering with Japan Airlines to bring its service abroad. A small expansion to be sure, but a notable one: it marks Gogo's first expansion of service to a foreign country. The partnership will provide WiFi to 77 planes in Japan, and Gogo says it'll be the faster Ku-satellite variety. Don't bust out your WiFi-required devices about JAL flights just yet, though, as the service won't go live until some time in Summer 2014. And who even knows what the world will look like by then? Maybe Elon Musk's Hyperloop will be realized and airlines will seem little more than novelty. Probably not, but maybe.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner completes first Trans-Pacific passenger flight, lands in Boston as JAL 8
We've been fortunate enough to hitch a ride on Boeing's 787 within the Land of the Rising Sun, but now the Dreamliner has hopped the Pacific with passengers on board, departing Tokyo Narita and landing at Boston's Logan International Airport around noon on Sunday. The JAL service marks New England's first Asia route, enabled by the 787's efficient design which lets airlines fly to lower-demand cities without wasting fuel on empty seats. The 787 will be making the 6,869-mile journey four times a week through May 31st, at which point daily service will begin, with flight 7 departing Boston at 1:20PM and arriving in Tokyo at 4 the following afternoon. Passengers on flight 8 will leave Tokyo at 11:30AM and land in Boston at 11:20AM on the same day. This is likely to be your best opportunity to ride a US-bound Dreamliner until United begins service later this year, so hit up the source link to get your fix, priced upwards of $1,500 for dates throughout the summer.
JAL gets twins as Boeing delivers two 787 Dreamliners
There's fashionably late and then there's Boeing 787 Dreamliner late -- something that the folks at Japan Airlines learned firsthand following a three-year delay for the highly anticipated aircraft. Fortunately for JAL, the delay wasn't quite on the Duke Nukem Forever scale as the carrier finally got its first set of shiny, new Dreamliners this week. That's two down and 43 more to go for JAL, which no longer has to make hungry eyes at that first 787 that rival All Nippon Airways got last year. As for those other Dreamliners, well, Boeing continues to struggle with some production issues -- including a delamination problem discovered in February involving the carbon composites of some rear fuselages. Nevertheless, Boeing hopes to ramp up production from 2.5 to 3.5 planes per month as it builds up to a final monthly goal of 10 planes. In the meantime, you can try designing your own 787 or check out our Dreamliner review. That's right, we reviewed a whole freaking plane 'cause that's how we roll around here.
Boeing 787 review: ANA's Dreamliner flies across Japan, we join for the ride
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is not the largest plane in the world. Nor is it the fastest. It doesn't have on-board showers or full-size beds, nor can it lay claim to the greatest range or sleekest entertainment system in the air. But it will change the way we fly for decades to come. Boeing's latest commercial airliner is several feet wider and longer than the 767, the company's smallest wide-body (twin-aisle) jet, yet it's 20 percent more fuel efficient. Given that fuel is the single greatest operating cost for any airline, savings of that magnitude could return the industry to profitability, and perhaps even usher in lower airfares for passengers. But while the 787's efficiency makes it an attractive option for airlines, it also serves up a more comfortable ride for passengers. We recently had a chance to fly on a domestic round trip between Tokyo and Okayama in Japan aboard an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Dreamliner -- one of the first two ever delivered. Quieter engines, dimmable windows, LED lights, huge overhead bins, an in-flight bar and on-demand entertainment enhance comfort, even during shorter flights, while higher humidity, a greater internal pressurization level and a gust alleviation system to reduce the effects of turbulence help improve the experience behind the scenes. Care to take a ride? Jump past the break to join us on board Boeing's brand new Dreamliner. %Gallery-141809%
No more mile high club for Japanese gamers
Most airlines don't allow you to use wireless devices on airplanes. In Japan however, gamers have been able to multiplay to their heart's content while in flight. That's changing now though. Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has decided to ban wireless gaming from all flights. The reason for the move is because apparently wireless devices can interfere with the airplane's instruments. Maybe this move was done because a small Japanese child controlled a plane with his stylus. That or it's just precautionary (but I do like the touch screen pilot idea). [Via Wired]
Japan Airlines offers DS Lites in-flight
Japan Airlines has announced that first and executive class passengers on its flights will be able to request a DS Lite simply by yelling HOLD IT! at the nearest flight attendant. Actually, they'd probably prefer that you ask politely, but as far as we're concerned they get what they deserve by failing to stock each plane with a hundred copies of Phoenix Wright. One of the numerous terms and conditions lists the fact that the DS Lites for JAL will be specially manufactured without Wifi. Apparently, a bit of multiplayer gaming isn't worth messing with the pilot's ability to fly the plane.Other amusing T&Cs: "Please read the game manual carefully before playing" - zOMG n00bs. "The service is limited to one console per passenger." - jeez, I can play at least three consoles simultaneously... in my sleep. "The Civil Aviation Law prohibits the use of these consoles during takeoff and landing." - good luck to the flight attendant tasked with retrieving two dozen DS Lites from a plane full of people claiming that they're "nearly at the next save point!" "If you do not experience at least seven bucket loads of fun after kicking Princess Peach's ass in Mario Kart DS, then you forfeit your right to be present on the aircraft. If you find yourself in this situation, please exit out of the nearest emergency exit. This T&C brought to you by Nintendo Corporation." - possibly a bit harsh, but we can see where JAL's coming from. See also: Scandinavian airline offers in-flight PSPs and Airports vending GBA, PSP portables
