Ryanair has taken its move upmarket to a whole new level by launching a corporate jet service. The budget airline will offer fine dining on a Boeing 737-700 jet refitted to carry 60 passengers on reclining leather business class seats. A spokesman said the plane can be hired by the hour, with the “competitive” rate depending on the cost of using the arrival and departure airports. The average Ryanair fare is E47 one-way, whereas a 60 seater private jet from London to Geneva charges about GBP33,000 – or GBP550 a head – for a return day trip. Ryanair said the jet would be “ideal for private corporate, sports team or group travel”. Asked if Ryanair would accept bookings from stag and hen parties, a spokesperson said the carrier was “happy to provide quotes for any groups”. The service can operate flights of up to six hours duration, which puts it within reach of north Africa, Turkey and Israel.<br/>
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Wednesday's total solar eclipse across Indonesia generated, according to Alaska Dispatch News, thousands of people making a pilgrimage to the southeast Asian nation to observe the magnificent spectacle. And a rare few, just 163 people, got to see the rare sight from above the clouds. They were aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 870 from Anchorage to Honolulu, which had changed its flight plan to intercept the eclipse. The request came from passenger Joe Rao, an astronomer who had calculated that the flight would intercept the eclipse's "path of totality", the area on Earth from which the total eclipse could be viewed. The problem was that the flight would depart 25 minutes too early to view the eclipse. So Alaska Airlines agreed to his request to delay the flight. Rao was just one of a dozen eclipse chasers aboard the flight. His fellow eclipse aficionados included Hayden Planetarium astronomer Craig Small, who has now seen 31 total solar eclipses, not missing a single one since 1973.<br/>
Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint-venture company, has taken delivery of its first aircraft—the brand new Airbus A320—to serve the international market starting next month. Himalaya will be the third Nepali carrier in service to serve the international sector after Nepal Airlines and Buddha Air. The 158-seater aircraft, dry leased from a Chinese company in Chengdu, landed at Tribhuvan International Airport Wednesday. The start-up private carrier plans to lease another A319 jet by June.<br/>