An experimental solar-powered aircraft took off Wednesday from a Swiss airbase in a bid to make history by flying round the clock and through the night.

Solar Impulse whirred along the runway at Payerne in western Switzerland, reaching 35 kilometres per hour (22 mph) as lone pilot Andre Borschberg gently lifted into clear skies at 6.51 am (0451 GMT) on a scheduled 25 hour flight.

“This should be a great day of all goes well,” said team chief Bertrand Piccard, who made the first non-stop round-the-world flight in a balloon ten years ago.

Virgin Atlantic airways celebrated their 10th anniversary of non-stop flights to Las Vegas from London at McCarran International Airport yesterday.

Dita Von Teese and President Sir Richard Branson posed for photos with the image of Von Teese emblazoned on the aircraft behind them.

She wore red Christian Louboutin heels, fishnet stockings and a red corset bodysuit with a Union Jack flag cape.

The UK flag-carrier is launching an exclusive private jet service for British Airways passengers flying within North America and the Caribbean.

The airline is establishing the service, designated PrivateConnect, in partnership with Cessna division CitationAir.

Unlike some other private jet services, BA will not force customers into signing a long-term contract and will not ask for fees upfront.

US carrier Delta is to buck the airline trend of shrinking premium cabins by increasing first class capacity on its domestic flights, perhaps hinting that a recovery in luxury travel may be on the cards.

The airline announced last week that from this fall it is to offer first class on all internal US flights longer than two and a half hours, an increase of some 50 routes from the current first class availability.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline is to fly a total of 90 Airbus A380 “superjumbos” by the end of 2017 after a shock announcement that it is to buy a further 32, the largest single order in commercial aviation history.

The airline stunned its rivals with the $11.5 billion purchase on the first day of the ILA Berlin Air Show, with one aviation leader stating that “one must assume that this is not an investment for the UAE, but it is an investment for the world.”

The engines on a French Concorde are to be examined as the first move in a $22m project aiming to get the supersonic passenger jet back in the air.

The Rolls Royce engines of the former Air France Concorde will undergo an initial examination to see what work needs to be done to start the engines.

Concorde was retired seven years ago, but it is hoped the jet could return to flight in a heritage capacity.