Travel – Page 4 – Impact Lab

Money Talk, Science & Technology News, Tourism, Travel

Bunq launches travel card to make foreign exchange fees disappear

June 15, 2019

Fintech startup Bunq provides full-fledged bank accounts. But if you’re happy with your existing bank, the company is launching a new free tier so that you can cut down on banking fees.

The Bunq Travel Card is a Mastercard without any foreign exchange fee. The company uses the standard Mastercard exchange rate but doesn’t add any markup fee — N26 also uses Mastercard’s exchange rate. Most traditional banks charge you 2 or 3 percent for foreign transactions.

When you get a card, you can then top up your account in the Bunq app. You can also send and request money with other Bunq users. But it isn’t a full bank account.

Continue reading… “Bunq launches travel card to make foreign exchange fees disappear”

Automobiles, Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News, Transportation, Travel

Cars will change more in the next decade than they have in the past century

May 23, 2019

While the look and feel of our cars has changed in the past 100 years, the way we drive them hasn’t. But fundamental change is coming. In the next decade, not only will the way they’re powered and wired have shifted dramatically, but we won’t be the ones driving them anymore.

Some cars already have basic automation features, but the automotive experiments currently being undertaken by the likes of Uber and Google make up a minuscule proportion of the vehicles on our roads. By 2030, the standard car will evolve from merely assisting the driver to taking full control of all aspects of driving in most driving conditions.

This widespread automation, together with the electrification and increased connectivity of both the car and society, are set to shake up the car industry in a big way, affecting everything from the way cars look and feel, to how we spend our time inside them, and how they get us from A to B.

Continue reading… “Cars will change more in the next decade than they have in the past century”

Entertainment, Science & Technology News, Tourism, Travel

This cruise ship has the first at-sea roller coaster—take a look

May 20, 2019

In 2019, 30 million passengers are expected to take a cruise, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. To compete for customers, cruise lines are spending billions to outdo each other with outrageous amenities and entertainment, from a high-tech planetarium at sea to an on-board race track. Royal Caribbean alone is spending $200 million on a private island, CocoCay, in the Bahamas for guests, according to Bloomberg, and had a $115 million transformation on Navigator of the Seas ship, which has the longest waterslide at sea at 800 feet.

Now one of the latest over-the-top cruise is adventures is the first on-board roller coaster, which will be on Carnival Cruise Line’s new Mardi Gras ship, and passengers will be able to ride it next year.

The Bolt Ultimate Sea Coaster will be on the top of the outdoor deck of the ship, according to Carnival Cruise Line, with drops reaching speeds of 40 miles per hour. The 10 fastest roller coasters in the world can go between 93 and 149 miles per hour, according to TripSavvy.

Continue reading… “This cruise ship has the first at-sea roller coaster—take a look”

Aviation, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News, Transportation, Travel

This new $12 billion airport will be the biggest in the world — take a look inside

April 15, 2019

This airport will cost $12 billion to make — take a look inside

On April 6, Istanbul Ataturk Airport — which was considered one of the busiest airports in the world with 70 million annual passengers — officially ceased operations. All commercial flights were transferred to Turkey’s new flagship international airport, which means Istanbul New Airport is open for business.

The first flight at Istanbul New Airport took place October 2018, and now the airport’s first phase of construction, which includes three runways and 15 million square feet of terminal space, is finished. There are four phases to be completed by 2025, with a total cost of about $12 billion.

The new airport covers 76 million square meters (more than 818 million square feet or 18,780 acres) and can currently handle 90 million passengers a year in phase one. When the entire airport is completed, it will be able to handle 200 million passengers a year. That will make it the world’s biggest airport by passenger traffic. In comparison, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, currently the world’s busiest airport, handles 107 million passengers a year.

Continue reading… “This new $12 billion airport will be the biggest in the world — take a look inside”

Aviation, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News, Transportation, Travel

‘Spaceplane’ that flies 25 times faster than the speed of sound passes crucial test

April 15, 2019

Hypersonic plane passes crucial test

A hypersonic ‘spaceplane’ just passed a crucial test for its precooler component. If and when the jet becomes available for commercial use, it could fly people from London to New York in less than 60 minutes.

A ‘spaceplane’ that flies 25 times faster than the speed of sound has successfully passed a crucial testing milestone.

The hypersonic plane is so fast it could jet from London to New York in less than 60 minutes and transport you from the UK to Australia in four hours.

Continue reading… “‘Spaceplane’ that flies 25 times faster than the speed of sound passes crucial test”

Science & Technology News, top 10, Tourism, Transportation, Travel

This airport has just been named Best in the World for the seventh year in a row

April 4, 2019

Courtesy Singapore Changi Airport

And it’s set to open the world’s largest indoor waterfall in just a few weeks.

It’s not very often that travelers actually look forward to arriving early to an airport for its amenities, but Singapore’s Changi Airport—with its rooftop swimming pool, 24-hour movie theater, and butterfly garden—has become that place.

So it’s no surprise that for a record-breaking seventh time in a row the global aviation hub has been crowned the world’s best airport in Skytrax’s annual 2019 World’s Best Airport Awards, revealed at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2019 in London on Wednesday.

Continue reading… “This airport has just been named Best in the World for the seventh year in a row”

Record Breaker, Science & Technology News, Travel

Cruise line proposes 60,000 passenger cruise ship nearly one mile long

March 26, 2019

Think cruise ships are big now? A cruise line has proposed a new ship that will carry 60,000 passengers and will be nearly one mile long.

Freedom Cruise Line International is proposing the largest vessel in maritime history. It will be 4,500 feet long, as wide as 2 1/2 football fields, and 350 feet high. The ship will be the first mobile City at Sea and carry the name Freedom Ship. The cost to build Freedom Ship? $11 Billion.

The 20+ story superstructure would contain condominium housing for 60,000, a hospital, schools, hotel, casino, duty free shopping, and commercial and office occupancies.

Continue reading… “Cruise line proposes 60,000 passenger cruise ship nearly one mile long”

Science & Technology News, Space, Space Flight, Tourism, Travel

Would you want to stay in a space hotel?

March 15, 2019

Aurora Station plans to become the first hotel in space. But how likely is it we’ll be able to holiday in orbit around the Earth?

It was intended to set the travel world on fire: Aurora Station, the world’s first in-orbit hotel. The official announcement took place last April during the Space 2.0 Conference in San Jose, California. Housed aboard a structure about the size of a large private jet, guests would soar 200 miles above the Earth’s surface, enjoying epic views of the planet and the northern and southern lights.

A jaunt won’t be cheap: the 12-day-journey aboard Aurora Station, scheduled to be in orbit by 2022, starts at a cool $9.5m (£7.3m) per person. Nevertheless, the company says the waiting list is booked nearly seven months ahead.

“Part of our experience is to give people the taste of the life of a professional astronaut,” says Frank Bunger, founder and chief executive officer of Orion Span, the firm which is behind Aurora Station. “But we expect most guests will be looking out the window, calling everyone they know, and should guests get bored, we have what we call the ‘holodeck,’ a virtual reality experience. In it you can do anything you want; you can float in space, you can walk on the Moon, you can play golf.”

Continue reading… “Would you want to stay in a space hotel?”

Aviation, Inventions, Science & Technology News, Transportation, Travel

This futuristic Airbus smart seat prototype may make the future of economy flying a bit less miserable

February 24, 2019

Move Airbus seat concept

The Move seat concept was created by London-based design firm Layer for Airbus.
The seats are made from lightweight polyester wood smart textile wrapped around an aluminum frame.
Electrical currents running through the smart textile allow passengers to control the firmness and the temperature of the seat.
Move seats can be adjusted using an app.
According to Layer, the seats are meant to help create an innovative passenger experience for economy class travelers.

Continue reading… “This futuristic Airbus smart seat prototype may make the future of economy flying a bit less miserable”

Aviation, Engineering, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News, Travel

Airlander 10: prototype of world’s longest aircraft retired

January 29, 2019

The Airlander 10 in flight at Cardington airfield in Bedfordshire in 2016.

UK firm behind plane-airship hybrid says it will ‘rethink the skies’ to build new model.

A prototype of the world’s longest aircraft, the Airlander 10, will not be rebuilt but engineers are set to “rethink the skies” with a production-ready model.

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), the Bedford-based company that created Airlander 10, has already received Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval, and it is hoped the new airship model will take to the skies by the early 2020s.

“Our focus is now entirely on bringing the first batch of production-standard, type-certified Airlander 10 aircraft into service with customers,” said Stephen McGlennan, the company’s chief executive.

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Aviation, Mass Transit, Transportation, Travel

The wild new passenger jet with no middle seats, ever

December 7, 2018

Fast and fierce: The Embraer E190-E2, nicknamed the Profit Hunter, is part of the E2 family of regional jets, which encompasses the E175-E2, E190-E2, and E195-E.

(CNN) — There’s a shark on the runway.

No, it’s not some nightmare scenario brought about by severe flooding, but a real-deal Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, painted up in a special great white shark livery.

In recent months, this ferocious flier has been turning heads and starring in travel Instagrams from the Maldives to South Africa while on a world tour and in October, it was spied at Nepal’s Kathmandu-Tribhuvan International Airport following a fly-past of Mount Everest.

Nicknamed the Profit Hunter, this is the show plane for Embraer’s E2 family of regional jets, which encompasses the E175-E2, E190-E2, and E195-E2, and it’s stealing some of the attention that’s lately been lavished on its competitor, the Airbus A220.

Continue reading… “The wild new passenger jet with no middle seats, ever”

Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News, Tourism, Travel

Tented camps are fast becoming the world’s best resorts

October 30, 2018

They’re popping up everywhere, from Mexico to Laos—and luxury travelers can’t get enough. Here’s why.

At one point in the mid-2010s, “glamping” became a four-letter word.

A sudden boom in upscale tented accommodations—which ultimately felt neither glamorous nor like camping—saw the trend go from boom to bust as quickly as spaghetti donuts and ramen burgers.

But now, glamping is back, and the glamour factor is through the canvas roof.

Continue reading… “Tented camps are fast becoming the world’s best resorts”