Airbus A340-300

With a service range of 7,400 nautical miles, Airbus’ A340-300 is tailored to meet the needs of the 275-300-seat long-range market – offering direct point-to-point services and increased flight frequencies at lower costs.

It thrives in many market environments and often forms a key part of a larger international operation with major and flagship carriers, operating along with other A330 or A340 models.  As flagships with smaller airlines, A340-300s provide vital long-range links to and from less populous cities; while serving as a cost-effective 275- 300-seat long-range complement for operators of A320 Family aircraft. 

As a result of its four engines, the A340-300 does not require any ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) certification – allowing for quick start-up of long-haul operations. It also has good ‘hot and high’ capability at airports that would be off-limits to other aircraft. 

The A340-300 provides the best economy in its class, reaching a 5 per cent lower fuel per trip compared to competing aircraft.

Like all members of Airbus’ family of modern jetliners, the A340-300 features a number of key innovations, including fly-by-wire flight controls, which bring increased flight protection as well as weight and cost savings; advanced weight-saving materials such as carbon fibre; and fuel-saving aerodynamics.  Commonality with Airbus’ family of fly-by-wire jetliners also brings important reductions in training and maintenance costs, providing customers with an important competitive advantage.

The A340-300 demonstrates outstanding environmental efficiencies, including low fuel burn and reduced engine emissions, while its reduced noise signature comfortably meets international standards.

The four-engine A340-300 features one of the quietest cabins in the sky, a key element for relaxing long-haul operations with 275-300 passengers in a typical configuration, or up to 440 travellers in a high-density arrangement. The A340-300 cabin allows for a wide variety of customised interiors, providing excellent versatility for operators of this widebody Airbus jetliner.  

Under the main deck, the A340’s large cargo holds provide voluminous capacity for extra revenue.  

With large cargo doors standard, it is able to take industry-standard LD3 containers in side-by-side loading.  The A340-300’s forward hold accommodates six 96-inch pallets or 18 LD3 containers, while the aft hold accepts 14 LD3s or a mix of three 96-inch pallets and two 88-inch pallets.

Airbus A380 Custom

We all have seen how Saudis go about spending the loads of money that they have got. However, what we will show you today is a bit too superfluous even for a Saudi prince.

The basic concept behind being rich is simple; fly first class, own your own private jet or maybe have your name painted on it. But Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has taken it to the next level by pulling of this new feat. The Prince has recently acquired an Airbus A380 which costs $300 million and is spending another $200 million to customize it into something that will look more than just spectacular!

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has a net worth of $18 billion but still this feat seems a bit too overboard, don’t you think? Prince employed his investment firm, Kingdom Holding, to acquire shares of some companies and it has really paid off. The companies include; News Corp, Apple, Citigroup and Twitter and is also the proud owner of The Savoy (London), the Fairmont (San Francisco), the Plaza (New York) and the Four Seasons. Prince also owns a number of yachts and his car collection currently contains 200 automobiles and has three palaces at his disposal with a total area of 5 million square feet. Once the Airbus is ready and is delivered to the Prince, he will be the owner of four gigantic private jets; the last addition being the world’s largest and most costly private plane. A typical Airbus A380 is capable of handling 800 passengers.

The remodeled Airbus A380 for the Prince shall have the following list of features and well, if these are just the highlights, we are sure that it is going to be one heck of an Airbus to own indeed. The Airbus shall come with a parking space for his Majesty’s Rolls Royce while supporting a concert hall which will be able to hold 10 persons and shall even have a stage for private entertainment sessions.

The plane will also come with spa treatments and rooms dedicated as steam rooms with tiles made of marble. There are plans of incorporating a room which will have flat screen TVs on walls and floors. These TV’s shall be telecasting to passengers what the Airbus is flying over and they call it the “Magic Carpet” room.

There shall be a room with holographic monitors and a prayer room with mats that shall automatically adjust themselves to face Mecca. There are many other features in the Airbus as well, such as an elevator that can be used to access different levels.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can buy stuff that can make you feel amazing!

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit

The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is a flying wing design with a crew of two. The bomber can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as eighty 500 lb (230 kg)-class (Mk 82) JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.

     Development originally started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration, and its expected performance was one of his reasons for the cancellation of the supersonic B-1A bomber. ATB continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development. Designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost including development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997.

     Because of its considerable capital and operating costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The winding-down of the Cold War in the latter portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, though the crew ejected safely. A total of 20 B-2s remain in service with the United States Air Force, which plans to operate the B-2 until 2058.

     The B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet (15,000 m), with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) on internal fuel and over 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) with one midair refueling. Though originally designed primarily as a nuclear bomber, it was first used in combat dropping conventional ordnance in the Kosovo War in 1999 and saw further service in Iraq and Afghanistan.