It will, he claims, have a lift-to-drag ratio eight times better than a jet airliner's, with a consequent saving in energy.

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In a modern jet airliner there are really just two ways to increase fuel economy, the most critical selling point in an era of tiny margins and volatile costs for carriers.

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The reason is simple: the typical business jet or airliner cruising at 45, 000 feet will have a cabin altitude of about 8, 000 feet.

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It initially translated its experience developing highly efficient airliners to the corporate jet market using airliner adaptations.

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Each new design, whether airliner or business jet, has faced issues that were discovered only after the aircraft was placed into routine service.

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In 1974, the first crash of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet occurred when a Lufthansa airliner crashed after takeoff at Nairobi airport in Kenya, killing 59 people.

CNN: Wednesday,

Sure, you don't need to waste fuel flying around an empty airliner, but even the company's small jet can burn through quite a bit of cash.

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As a business aircraft, those airliner qualities proved particularly beneficial: The Legacy offered a huge cabin, midsize jet price tag, reliability, maintainability and excellent operating economy.

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The author is a man of particular tastes: Room accents include serving trays from a 1930s Douglas DC-3 airliner, a WWII-era coffin trolley turned coffee table, and reclaimed jet navigator chairs used as bar stools.

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Jet charter bookings in the U.K. shot up 40% for the week following the foiled airliner bomb plot in London.

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