A Winnipeg woman will be among the first group of Canadians to board Virgin Galactic‘s space plane when it begins commercial flights.
Judy Anderson, a retired University of Manitoba professor, has been saving for her trip to space since 2010, when she first found out about billionaire Richard Branson’s plans to take people off the planet.
“I’m so looking forward to it,” Anderson said.
Anderson purchased ticket 623 for $200,000 USD at the time with a $20,000 down payment. She’ll have to pay the rest in full about three months before her flight.
“We have over half in U.S. dollars,” she said. ”I’ll eat macaroni and cheese for the rest of my life.”
Anderson has dreamed of leaving the planet for decades and attempted to become an astronaut in 1993.
Although she didn’t make the cut, she never gave up on her dream of one day making it to space.
“I just love the idea of floating and seeing the earth from up in space, you know, seeing the curvature of the earth,” she said. “It’s just like science and art and beauty all combined.”
1:43 Virgin Galactic nears first commercial flight
Virgin Galactic nears first commercial flight – May 11, 2019
Virgin Galactic is offering two astronaut hopefuls a chance to win a spot on one of its first commercial flights through the charity Omaze.
“If enough people all over the world participate, it just means the charity can keep on doing tickets for people,” Branson said. “It’s a lovely self-propelling way to get people who otherwise couldn’t afford to go to space, to go to space.”
Virgin Galactic’s commercial flights for ticket-paying customers aren’t expected to begin until at least next year.
Each flight holds six passengers, meaning Anderson should be on the 104th one, but because she isn’t sure how often flights will be scheduled, it’s not clear how long it will be until it’s her turn.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
