It's the end of another week in which we have covered an exciting range of stories from across the world of commercial aviation. Let's take a look at some of our most notable articles from the last seven days!

A look at the Celera 500L

Otto Aviation has unveiled its proposed Celera 500L concept. Earlier this week, Simple Flying took a closer look at this highly efficient six-seat business aircraft. As well as its impressive environmental credentials, its unorthodox, blimp-like structure is likely to make it stand out and win admirers. You can find out more about it here.

The Incredible Story Of The Gimli Glider

We also took a look back at one of the most incredible emergency landings in aviation history this week. The 'Gimli Glider' was an Air Canada Boeing 767 which suffered fuel exhaustion inflight due to technical issues and human error. Incredibly, its pilots were able to glide the aircraft safely down to the ground, landing on a decommissioned airfield being used as a racetrack. This article is definitely not one to miss!

Gimli Glider Boeing 767
The 'Gimli Glider' was a five-month-old Boeing 767-200. Photo: Aero Icarus via Wikimedia Commons

Zephyr's Double Decker Airplane Seat

Zephyr Aerospace announced this week that, at the close of its crowdfunding period for its proposed double-decker seat, it had surpassed its target by 700%! Following this announcement, Simple Flying took a closer look at this revolutionary design, which will allow lie-flat comfort even in economy class. You can find out more here.

Zephyr Aerospace seat
Photo: Zephyr Aerospace

Shake-up in the busiest international routes

Several changes have recently been made to England's 'red list' of countries from which arrivals are currently banned. One of the more recent additions was Qatar, which led to a shake-up in the world's busiest international routes this summer. Many UK travelers use Doha as a connection hub for onward travel beyond the Middle East.

Qatar Airways A380 /wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1068904540-1000x667.jpg
Photo: Getty Images
Two A380s are currently used to Heathrow each day, down versus the pre-pandemic.

Final Airbus A380 Completes Its 1st Flight

The Airbus A380 program made another significant step towards coming to an end this week, when the final example made its first flight. The aircraft flew from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France to be painted in Hamburg, Germany. You can find out more about it here.

Airbus A380, Final Plane, First Flight
All three outstanding Airbus A380s are bound for Emirates. Photo: Getty Images

Meet The SE200 – A Green 264 Seat Widebody

Finally, Simple Flying also took a closer look at the proposed SE Aeronautics 'SE200' widebody aircraft. Its initials stand for 'Super Efficient,' which the manufacturer intends for the plane to be. Indeed, it claims its tri-wing design will result in 80% lower emissions!

SE200
SE Aeronautics wants to redesign the widebody of the future. Photo: SE Aeronautics

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What was your favorite story this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!