[cdnbcguy]

A photographer in California got this photograph of the jet a couple of weeks ago as it was flying near Edwards Air Force Base. Aviation Week, which reported on the existence of the jet, published this same shot and presumably used it to estimate the jet’s altitude in the photograph as 20,000 feet. This is all presuming that the plane in the shot is the new jet in question, which it might or might not be. Remember that the Air Force has only confirmed the existence of the program and no details, so it could well be another secret program. [links]

[Brandon]

The new bat-shaped flying wing was seen in broad daylight, too!

[svs]

When a photograph appeared online earlier this week, defense experts speculated it might be the new 6th Gen fighter jet the Air Force recently admitted working on. more

[helen123]

The current thinking, however, is that it’s not that but, rather, a new next-gen drone, the RQ-180, that has been speculated upon even more than the new fighter jet. So that’s what it is! more

[mshare1]

A shot of the shape of the Lockheed-Martin F-117 Nighthawk fighter for a comparison.

[singingwolfboy]

It’s a model that demands financial discipline and extreme transparency. In practice, it means Solairus delivers a clean, itemized report and bill, and provides a place online where clients can track and analyze expenses and locate past records. That means a customer knows just how much of their costs went to categories such as fuel and pilot salary, and how much that champagne-and-scones catering for the ride really cost. here

[kenny1029]

As the portal grows, more and different types of people will use it, posing a potential risk of private information seen by the wrong eyes, says Pendse. To stem that risk, Oracle’s Identity Cloud Service provides a ready solution. “We want to make sure that different users from the same customer can access different parts of the information based on the context that they are in,” Pendse says. “For example, the maintenance person for the airplane doesn’t need to see the same information as the CFO. So we needed to be sure our system catered to that.” more

[ConfusedEnthusiast]

To that list, you could also add “simplicity.” Solairus, one of the largest private aircraft management firms, with more than 150 aircraft in its care, asks clients to open and fund a separate bank account from which Solairus draws funds to operate the planes. more

[Pippin]

Dennen credits Oracle ERP Cloud with making this possible for a company like Solairus. “Without any investment in a data center, we put together a product that has turned our finance function into a marketing and business development tool,” he says.

[ellimistd]

Empty leg specials are a terrific way to save on private jet flights. However, you must be flexible to take advantage of them and have a back-up option if your flight is canceled.

[Remizor]

Today we’re going to go over what empty legs are, how the experience compares to a conventional charter and how to book them. Let’s get started!

[Kir]

While most empty leg specials are for the entire aircraft, XO lets you book empty legs by-the-seat. This makes private jet travel a lot more affordable for those traveling solo or as a pair. Just be aware that XO is known for canceling empty legs quite frequently. here

[tuhinworld3]

As the term suggests, empty legs are flights that are scheduled to fly without any passengers. These operate when an aircraft needs to reposition or return for a charter. They’re sometimes also referred to as “dead-heads,” “repositioning legs,” and “ferry flights.” According to charter-jet company XO, 30%-50% of the private jet charter fleet often flies empty.

[jamesgrc]

Empty leg pricing varies by route, aircraft, dates and other details. To give you an idea, they are typically priced about 50%-75% lower than the usual charter. Take, for instance, a flight from New York to South Florida. A mid-size jet charter can run you upwards of $20,000 one-way. However, you can often find empty leg flights on this route for $9,000-$12,000. here

[Fox]

While not all charter companies market them, most offer empty leg specials. After all, what company wouldn’t want to generate some extra revenue and maximize their fleet utilization? Additionally, there are brokers advertising other operators’ empty legs, essentially acting as a middleman, similar to online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline. However, as with commercial flights, it’s typically best to book direct . here

[Centaur]

These days, a select lucky few are taking luxury air travel to new heights with state-of-the-art ultra-long-range executive jets from manufacturers such as Gulfstream and Bombardier. And then there are those bold enough to convert commercial airliners into opulent flying palaces.

[Set WilliamA]

When it comes to private jets, there are some that are a cut above the rest.

[gorschal]

But for now, at least, here are the seven most luxurious private jets in the world, according to Business Insider. here

[ritobanc]

[comboy]

here

[Hooquai8]

here