Bangkok (Thailand) – June 18, 2019 (travelindex.com) – The Swiss-Thai Chamber of Commerce (STCC), together with the support of the Swiss Society Bangkok, Beluchai and Solvay, organized a lecture by Raphaëlle NICOLET about the historic round-the-world flight with Solar Impulse in the Arnoma Grand Ballroom of the Arnoma Grand Bangkok Hotel.

About Solar Impulse: Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental project for solar-powered aircraft and also the name of the project's two aircraft currently in operation. The privately funded project is led by Swiss engineer and entrepreneur André Borschberg and Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted the Breitling Orbiter 3, the first balloon to circumnavigate the globe non-stop.

On March 9, 2015, Piccard and Borschberg launched their round-the-world flight aboard Solar Impulse 2 from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The return to Abu Dhabi was planned for August 2015 after a multi-day circumnavigation. By June 2015, the aircraft had crossed Asia and in July 2015 completed the longest leg of its journey, from Japan to Hawaii. During this leg, the aircraft's batteries suffered heat damage, the repair of which took months. Solar Impulse 2 resumed its circumnavigation in April 2016 with a flight to California. From there, it continued across the USA until reaching New York City in June 2016. Later that month, the aircraft crossed the Atlantic to Spain. It made a stopover in Egypt before returning to Abu Dhabi on July 26, 2016, more than 16 months after its departure. This completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a manned fixed-wing aircraft powered exclusively by solar energy, a distance of approximately 42,000 kilometers.

About the Arnoma Grand Bangkok: The Arnoma Grand Bangkok is part of the Arnoma Hotels and Resorts Group and is a sister hotel to The Felix Kanchanaburi, which will operate under the name Arnoma Resort in Kanchanaburi in the future. With its unparalleled location near many of Bangkok's premier office buildings and within walking distance of some of the city's best shopping, as well as 369 rooms and suites and state-of-the-art meeting facilities for all types of events, the Arnoma Grand is one of Ratchaprasong's flagship properties.

Contact information: Arnoma Grand Bangkok 99 Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 T: + 662 655 5555 F: +662 655 7888 E: [email protected] W: www.arnoma.com