Before you can reheat food in the air, you must cook it to just the right temperature on the ground. Not the easiest thing to do for huge amounts and varieties of meats and veggies. The advent of sous vide—submerging vacuum-sealed food in a temperature-controlled water bath—gave cooks more control over the amount of doneness. As the machines became widely available and affordable around 2009, everyone from United Airlines to JetBlue adopted the method.Jennifer Chaussee (Wired)
Month: November 2016 Page 1 of 4
The new high-speed transport link between Dubai and Abu Dhabi would cut travel time between the two cities significantly. Dire traffic conditions long suffered by commuters between Dubai and Abu Dhabi typically entails a two-hour car journey. A completion date for the project in the UAE is yet to be set. However, if initial evaluations are successful, Hyperloop One’s CEO Rob Lloyd has said the project could, from a technological perspective, be ready in around five years. In addition to the link between the two UAE cities, plans are being discussed for a 50-minute Hyperloop link to be built between Dubai and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. It currently takes two hours to make the journey by plane.Clare Vooght (The Independent)
For a significant number of leisure travellers from the UK, France and Italy, the number one reason for going away was to ‘discover somewhere new’. It seems the French, Germans and Italians were far more interested than Brits in seeing nature and scenery though, with almost half giving this as a reason for travelling, compared to just over a quarter of Brits. Instead, Brits preferred to spend time relaxing on the beach (39 per cent) and sightseeing (36 per cent).Caroline Mcguire (Daily Mail)
Until now, Airbnb has been about homes. Today, Airbnb is launching Trips, bringing together where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet all in one place. We want to make travel magical again by putting people back at the heart of every trip.Brian Chesky (Airbnb)
Since 2015, American, United, and Delta Airlines have each changed the basis of their rewards programs from miles flown to money handed over. (American just made the switch in August.) You get points based on what you pay, not how far you go. They’ve made it harder for passengers to reach the elite statuses that come with perks like seat upgrades.Aarian Marshall (Wired)
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Skyscanner, which is also trying to build up its hotel metasearch business, had been rumored to be seeking to do an initial public offering but the acquisition by Ctrip, the second largest online travel agency in the world and the largest in China, obviously takes an IPO off the table. We reported earlier this year that Priceline Group took a look at buying the company late last year, before Skyscanner raised its latest round of funding which valued it at $1.6 billion.Dennis Schaal (Skift)
The West Sussex airport, whose bid to build a second runway was rejected by the Government last month in favour of Heathrow expansion, recorded a pre-tax profit of £116million in the six months to September 30, compared with £134million during the same period last year.Ted Thornhill (Daily Mail)
Airbus’ A350-1000 is aimed squarely at dethroning one of Boeing’s most popular products, the 777-300, which has sold 809 frames to date. Airbus says the A350-1000 is 25% more fuel efficient and 30 tons lighter than the venerable Boeing jet. […] Boeing has already responded in force to the A350-program, launching the 777X program in 2013. The three-strong family of 777-revamps include two versions (777-9X and 777-10X) that carry more than 400 passengers in a three-class configuration – quite a bit more than the A350-1000.Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren (USA Today)
If I go back 10 years ago, the argument then was probably that the maximum range of short-haul, low-cost was about four hours. Beyond four hours, it wouldn’t work because customers wouldn’t accept the idea that you had to pay for water, pay for a drink, pay to check in a bag, pay for a meal. Norwegian has clearly demonstrated that the consumer is happy to do that.Willie Walsh (IAG)