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We toured United's fanciest Airbus jet yet, complete with business-class doors and a snack bar. See inside.

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Business Insider toured United's newest plane, the A321XLR expected to fly to Europe and beyond. Taylor Rains/Business Insider We toured United Airlines' new ultra-premium Airbus A321XLR at the UK's Farnborough airshow in July. The jet has doors in business class, privacy dividers in premium economy, and a snack bar in coach. It's refreshing to see an airline add premium perks to the economy section. United Airlines' newest Airbus jet is easily the airline's fanciest narrowbody yet . Adorned in a special blue-and-white livery and packed with 150 luxe new seats, the Airbus A321XLR underscores United's continued push to court higher-paying travelers as demand for more comforts grows. Most notably, sliding doors are now a feature in Polaris business class — an increasingly common feature in newer premium cabins and something long requested by many of United's most valuable flyers. Meanwhile, Premium Plus, United's version of premium economy that sits b...

Starbucks is betting bubbles will give sales some sparkle

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Two of the new bubbly drinks from Starbucks. Starbucks Starbuck is testing new carbonated versions of its popular refresher drinks in select markets. Non-coffee drinks are playing a key role in Starbucks growth, especially among younger customers. The company said its refreshers line is delivering double-digit year-over-year growth. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is ready for some fizz. The company is testing a carbonated version of its Refreshers, which are iced juice and tea drinks often mixed with fruit pieces, that have become one of Starbucks' biggest beverage businesses since launching in 2012. "I'm really excited that we're getting ready to go test sparkling. We're calling it Spritzers," he told investors on the company's third quarter earnings call Wednesday. The company delivered net sales of $9.3 billion for the period, with global comparable sales growth of 7.9%. Of course, sparkling drinks have been a fast food chain staple since the beginning of ...

Florida plans to build air taxi pads using $200M intended for EV chargers

Florida wants to use federal EV charger funds to build an air taxi network connecting golf courses, luxury apartment buildings, and airports. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/EdmfXQN via IFTTT

'The Diary of a CEO' star Steven Bartlett has lost 4 key podcast staffers in recent months

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"The Diary of a CEO" podcaster Steven Bartlett has been making inroads in the US. : Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images Four core UK employees of Steven Bartlett's "The Diary of a CEO" left without specifying their next moves. The long-serving employees worked in key roles on the top business podcast. Bartlett has been looking to the US for growth as he builds his media company, FlightStory. The star business podcaster Steven Bartlett has lost four core employees in the past five months as he grows the show and expands his media empire beyond the UK. The long-serving employees had helped the show become the No. 1 business podcast on Spotify in the US. One departing staffer was Jack Sylvester, who calls himself the "cofounder" of Bartlett's "The Diary of a CEO." He helped establish its presence on YouTube , where the show now has more than 18 million subscribers. Also out: Jem Erith, who was the show's executive producer Anthony Smith, ...

These App Store hidden gems prove there’s still room for great software in the AI era

Despite predictions that AI agents could make traditional apps obsolete, developers are shipping new software faster than ever. From smarter bookmarking tools and neighborhood marketplaces to digital pen pals and nature journals, here are the latest App Store finds worth adding to your Home Screen. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/obuep9z via IFTTT

33 Disney movies have hit $1 billion at the box office — here they all are

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Tom Hanks and Tim Allen at the "Toy Story 5" premiere. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney Of the 63 movies that have made $1 billion, 33 of them have been released by Disney. That's about half. The MCU , Pixar, "Avatar," "Star Wars," and "Pirates of the Caribbean" are all owned by Disney. Numbers don't lie: Disney is easily the most successful movie studio of all time. Of the 63 films that have made 10 figures at the worldwide box office, 33 of them have been released by Disney. And, if you include the first "Avatar" and " Star Wars: The Phantom Menace ," which were originally released by 20th Century but are now owned by Disney, you get up to 35. No other studio has a chokehold on mainstream movies like Disney does, and it's not close. We used Box Office Mojo data to compile this list of every single Disney movie that's made $1 billion (or more). Keep scrolling to see the entire list. "Pirates of th...

Making sense of the panic over Chinese AI

On the latest episode of Equity, we discussed why Moonshot AI's Kimi seemed to panic Silicon Valley and Wall Street. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/wy6EfpQ via IFTTT