Three billionaire entrepreneurs - Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson - are each vying to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel. Here is how their rival ventures compare in the race to open up space travel. TICKETS Bezos, Branson and Musk have been investing billions of dollars in their space startups, each promising to ferry paying customers on rides to space - and it will cost a pretty penny to be part of it. Branson's Virgin Galactic is reported to have more than 600 ticket reservations already, priced around $250,000. It expects to begin a full commercial service in 2022 and eventually hopes to slash the ticket price to around $40,000. FILE PHOTO: Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos addresses the media about the New Shepard rocket booster an...
Read MoreDay: July 8, 2021
Nabeel Kensara and Nasal Alzamzmi, a couple from Saudi Arabia, used to go for holidays to Switzerland twice a year, but coronavirus travel restrictions across Europe have forced them to discover new destinations. Ukraine, which only requires a coronavirus PCR or express test upon entry, is one of just a few visa-free countries for Saudi tourists. A tourist from Saudi Arabia takes a selfie in central Kyiv, Ukraine June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Ukraine stopped all regular flights last March to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but in June resumed domestic air traffic and flights to foreign destinations. Besides traditional city sightseeing, the country offers a variety of close-to-nature getaways - from the picturesque Carpathian mountains in the west to the bustling Black S...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that both international and domestic travel demand showed marginal improvements in May 2021, compared to the prior month, but traffic remained well below pre-pandemic levels. Recovery in international traffic in particular continued to be stymied by extensive government travel restrictions. Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to May 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern. Total demand for air travel in May 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 62.7% compared to May 2019. That was a gain over the 65.2% decline recorded in April 2021 versus April 2019. International ...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.