Sunday Reads: Our Most Notable Stories This Week

Welcome to Simple Flying’s first weekly roundup for the month of June! It’s fair to say that this month has got off to a supersonic start, but what have been some of our most notable stories from the last week? Let’s take a look!

United Airlines is the first US airline to order the supersonic Boom Overture. Photo: Boom Supersonic

United Airlines Orders The Boom Overture

Easily the most exciting story this week was the announcement that United Airlines had placed an order for as many as 50 supersonic Boom Overture airliners. This consists of 14 firm orders and 35 options, with the US carrier hoping to introduce the type by 2029. This will be subject to operational and sustainability targets being met. You can read the full story here.

Qatar Airways CEO Threatens To Stop Taking Airbus Deliveries

The relationship between Qatar Airways and European planemaker Airbus has been somewhat on the rocks of late. After revealing in our exclusive webinar that the A380 was the airline’s biggest mistake, CEO Akbar Al Baker has threatened to stop taking Airbus deliveries. This has come about as a result of an outstanding issue with the manufacturer.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has confirmed an ongoing issue with Airbus. Photo: Airbus

United 787 Four-Hour Flight To Nowhere

A United Airlines Boeing 787-9 ‘Dreamliner’ bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina recently had to return to its departure airport, Houston Intercontinental. It touched down four hours after initially taking off, with the reason for the ‘flight to nowhere’ being found to have been a generator failure. You can read more about this incident here.

United Boeing 787-9
A generator failure forced the flight to return to Houston. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

How Much Is A Boeing 747-400 Worth Today?

The 747-400 has been the most popular variant of the ‘Quen of the Skies’ in terms of its sales figures. However, while these aircraft were previously of immense value, changes in network models and the passing of time have caused these planes to depreciate. With this in mind, Simple Flying investigated what their present value is.

Boeing 747, Value, 2021
How much is a Boeing 747-400 worth in 2021? Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Edit: Rohan Patel

In Pictures: Inside A Boeing 747 Private Jet

Staying on the topic of the Boeing 747, we took a look at the lavish interior of a privately configured jumbo jet. Designed by Alberto Pinto, it is the beautiful culmination of four years of hard work. You can admire its opulence by reading the full story here.

747-8 BBJ Alberto Pinto
The interior of the jet looks more like a luxury yacht. Photo: Alberto Pinto

Inside Bill Gates’ Private Jet Collection

After spending time last week exploring Mark Cuban’s private jet collection, this week we turned our attention to Bill Gates’s aircraft. These four exclusive jets are the Microsoft founder’s ‘guilty pleasure,’ and have a combined value of around $200 million.

Bill Gates owns two Gulfstream G650ERs. Photo: Getty Images

If you’d like us to send you the week’s top stories in a weekly e-newsletter, you can sign up to the mailing list here. See you next week!



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