Airbus aims to copy a technique used by aircraft carriers to launch fighter jets off short runways, and more items in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion on 7 September.
Airbus reveals its blue sky thinking about air travel in 2050.
The European aircraft manufacturer revealed many forward thinking ideas at a press conference in London last night, with materials posted on its website.
One idea: The company is working on rolling platforms for runways that would tow planes and catapult them into the sky to help avoiding needing the big surge of power from an aircraft's own jet engine.
This would be similar to what happens on the deck of aircraft carriers today.
Lowcostbeds expands in the US
Europe's lodging booking site has launched in the States. American travel agencies can register and access Lowcostbeds’ 250,000 property inventory, joining the 15,000 travel agencies registered in Europe.
TripIt adds alerts within its iPad app
Once only sent by e-mail or text message, TripIt Pro app for iPad now also warns users to flight delays and changes with alerts in the dashboard of the app, which covers travelers who have access to Wi-Fi but no international data plan.
Lastminute.com taps Webtrends website optimization solutions
The eleventh-hour travel site has implemented Webtrends's Optimize and Segments to better interpret customer preferences and target users with content based on their individual behaviors on the company's brand websites.
Fotopedia signs advertising deal with Splendia
The partnership makes the most of the photo iPad app's record of generating "an average click-through rate of 3.5%" with a "worldwide audience of more than 12 million people." See Tnooz's most recent story on Fotopedia.
Coakley & Williams uses online local event marketing as a strategy
The Greenbelt, Md.,-headquartered seller of hotel management services says it is finding success in attracting bookings reservations by creating targeted landing pages for events, rather than hotels.
The webpages attract travelers coming to local markets with specific event information along with links to Coakley & Williams' property websites, thus driving bookings as a second-order benefit.
NB Image of airplane being catapulted courtesy of Airbus.