Week in travel: Emirates upgrades first-class

If it’s luxury you want, fly Emirates; if not, take a trip to the Bear Grylls Adventure

Emirates has embarrassed Europe’s largest plane manufacturer with its plans to shake up the premium travel industry this week, and there’s bad news for Muslim travellers from six countries as Donald Trump has partial success in court.

NASA-inspired zero gravity comes to first-class

Emirates new cabins will feature “zero gravity” – Emirates

Emirates will launch a new frontier in luxury travel with its new first-class private suites. The fully-enclosed rooms will feature seats offering NASA-inspired “zero gravity”. The move is part of a multi-billion dollar upgrade to its fleet announced at the Dubai Airshow this week, which saw Emirates report that it will spend $15.1bn on Boeing Dreamliners. It appears the airline had not told Airbus, Boeing’s largest rival, of its plans. Skift reported that Airbus staff left the press conference in a rush just minutes before the announcement.

US to bar travellers from six Muslim-majority countries

Donald Trump has had partial success with his Muslim ban – Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock

Donald Trump’s Muslim travel ban will be partially implemented, following a decision by a US appeal court. The US government will now be able to stop the entry of people from six Muslim-majority countries with no connections to the United States. The ban will apply to people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad. It is Trump’s third attempt at his Muslim ban, and critics say that it violates the US constitution. There are various legal challenges to stop it from coming into effect by refugee organisations, the American Civil Liberties Union and private individuals.

Bear Grylls – Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

Grin and Bear it: Grylls launches near-death theme park

Explorer Bear Grylls will open a $26m theme park in 2018. The 86,000-square-foot Bear Grylls Adventure will be based upon the pioneer’s excursions into the wild. Skift reported that the park, built by Merlin Entertainments in Birmingham, will feature rock climbing, indoor skydiving, and “the highest free-roam high ropes” course in Europe. There has been no word as to whether visitors will have to drink their own urine to survive the experience.

US national parks to introduce surge pricing

Uber-inspired surge pricing may be implemented at US national parks – Shutterstock

The cost of visiting Yellowstone may soon rocket if plans under consideration are put in place. The Guardian reported that the National Park Service is looking at introducing surge pricing similar to Uber’s. This would see prices more than double from $25 to $70 on a busy day in 17 parks from 1 May 2018. Ryan Zinke, US interior secretary, said the plans were to cover the cost of $11.9bn of new maintenance work. However, Zinke has also slashed funding by $400m. John Garder of the National Parks Conservation Association, told the Guardian: “Most objectionable is that visitors are expected to pay their share, but there’s no acknowledgement the federal government bears responsibility.”

And finally… Millennium Falcon discovered in England

The Millennium Falcon was hidden from beady eyes on the ground, but not space – Google Maps

The Millennium Falcon will be making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs from its base in Surrey, England. One eagle-eyed Twitter user has spotted Disney’s attempts to hide the famous craft behind shipping containers at Longcross Studios. Unfortunately, the movie giant, who own Star Wars, surrounded the Falcon but did not cover it. Tweeting a picture of his discovery, Kevin Beaumont said: “Lol Disney tried to hide the Millennium Falcon by surrounding it with shipping containers. Also, it’s on Google Maps.”