Boat International — January 2018

boatinternational.com

01/2018

Subscription-based private

airline Surf Air allows its members

to travel on an “all you can

fly” basis from £1,750 a month.

Book tickets via its app and turn

up at the airport 15 minutes

before the flight for the quickest

security clearance you’re

ever likely to experience on

a commercial airline. The

three-year-old company already

has 4,000 members in the US and

operates 90 daily flights on

12 routes across California.

New Europe routes, such

as London to Ibiza, as well as

Cannes, Zurich, Luxembourg,

Munich and Milan, launch

this year. surfair.com

Companies all over the world are working on

developing flying cars that can be easily integrated

into our daily lives.

Slovakian company AeroMobil has a hybrid

vehicle that can drive at just under 100mph

and it takes only three minutes to fold out its

wings for flight. It plans to deliver the model

to customers by 2020 at a retail price of

€1.2-€1.5 million.

Dutch concept PAL-V Liberty is adopting a

gyroplane principle. In drive mode, the propeller

tucks into the rear of the vehicle and rotors fold

ThedemiseofConcordehasbeenwell

documented, but several companies are intent

on bringing back the famous supersonic jet.

Denver-based start-up Boom, backed by British

entrepreneurRichardBranson,aimstohaveits

demonstrator XB-1, or “Baby Boom,” in the air by

the end of next year, with the first commercial

flight in 2023. It’ll fly from New York to London

in three hours 15 minutes with tickets costing the

same as a business class flight.

Improvements on the original Concorde design

includeacarboncompositeshell,amore

Flying cars

THE FUTURE

OF FLIGHT

The new Concorde

New York to London

flights on XB-1

will take just

over three hours,

enough time to

watch a film and

check your

itinerary

>>

Uber in the air

and store on top; all with dimensions no larger

than an average car. The first orders will be

dispatched in Europe in 2018 with the launch

model retailing at around €499,000.

Silicon Valley’s Zee.Aero, funded by Google’s

Larry Page, has stayed tight-lipped on its

rumoured flying car, but the company reportedly

registered two new vehicles with the FAA, both

electric and both using rotary wings. With

designers and engineers from Nasa, Boeing and

SpaceX on the project, it’s definitely one to watch.

aeromobil.com; pal-v.com; zee.aero

aerodynamic profile and even a quieter supersonic

boom. Nasa and Lockheed Martin, the US-based

aerospace company, are also working on breaking the

767mph sound barrier, focusing on almost entirely

reducing the boom to open up overland routes, and

halving transatlantic flight times. Their maiden flight

is planned for 2020. boomsupersonic.com

WORDS BY TORY KINGDON

Faster, more convenient

and road-worthy? Air travel

is about to take off again

AVIATION70