The latest business jet interiors look more like a mid-range BMW or Mercedes

The latest business jet interiors look more like a mid-range BMW or Mercedes, with leather seats and walnut veneer, than a Bentley.From a standing start three years ago, "fractional ownerships", in which companies buy a share in a jet, have attracted at least 50 European firms, the majority in Britain. This figure is expected to double next year.For pounds 400,000, they can purchase a one-eighth share in a jet and a helicopter for short trips around Britain. Then, with four hours notice, they can use the plane whenever they need.One of the newest fractional ownership brokers is Sunseeker Superyachts, set up in March. "Airlines are merging and companies are doing away with frequent flyer fares," said Nick Davis, their director of aviation.

"If you are a computer firm, and a customer with a multi-million pound contract has technical problems, your support team can be sent out so much quicker in a business jet. In the early Nineties, firms were doing away with planes but now they are seen as a business tool. It is easier for companies to justify a jet if it is for the whole company's use, not just fat-cat directors."Graham Forbes, of the General Aviation and Manufacturers and Traders' Association, said corporate jets offer security and accessibility. "On a scheduled plane you've always got someone looking at your work, which is not the case on a business jet," he added.Some fractional ownership companies have already declared an interest in supersonic business jets. Graeme Deary is sales director for NetJet, a European subsidiary of the world's largest fractional ownership company, which is owned by the American billionaire Warren Buffett."As soon as the jets are rolling off the production line, we will put in an order for 50," he said.HOW MAN HAS SHRUNK THE ATLANTIC1492: Christopher Columbus: Canaries to Bahamas, one month.1620: Pilgrim Fathers: Plymouth to Cape Cod, two months.1919: Alcock and Brown fly west to east in 16hrs 27 min.1927: Charles Lindbergh makes first solo Atlantic flight in 331/2 hrs.1934: Queen Mary crosses Atlantic in four days.1939: Pan American Airways runs first commercial transatlantic airline service.1974: Lockheed SR-71A "Blackbird" crosses in less than two hours.1976: Concorde: first supersonic passenger crossing, 3hrs 50min.. MEMBERS OF the new Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly who also sit in Westminster will be able to draw two salaries, under plans which will infuriate English MPs. The Government confirmed last night that the 21 politicians with a double mandate will be eligible for a third of their salary in Scotland or Wales, on top of the money they receive for their work in the House of Commons.

They will also be allowed to claim two sets of office allowances and grants to pay for staff costs. The decision is set to cost the tax payer up to pounds 3m in the remaining time before the next general election when the MPs who stood in Scotland and Wales are expected to stand down in Westminster.It will also fuel resentment in the Commons by creating a two- tier system of richer and poorer MPs. An MP who also sits in the Scottish Parliament will be eligible for a top-up salary worth around pounds 13,000 a year and an MP with a seat in the Welsh Assembly could earn an extra pounds 11,000 in addition to the pounds 45,066 Commons wage.English politicians will argue that the Scottish and Welsh representatives should not be paid twice because they cannot work in two places at once. Some have already been pushing for an English Parliament, arguing that they should have their own assembly if Scottish and Welsh politicians are allowed to vote in London.MSPs will also be able to claim allowances worth up to pounds 46,000 a year to pay for their staff and offices in Edinburgh, and members of the Welsh Assembly could get grants as high as pounds 34,000, on top of the pounds 49,000 claimable in the House of Commons. The politicians could also be subsidised for transport and accommodation - MSPs who live beyond commuting distance to Holyrood will be eligible for a grant of pounds 9,000 to pay for a second home in Edinburgh.Ministers are aware that the salaries issue is likely to be contentious.

The Scottish and Welsh Offices said that Donald Dewar and Alun Michael, the heads of the two ruling bodies, had decided not to claim their MPs' salary on top of their ministerial wage. They were wary of turning public opinion against devolution.But many other Members intend to accept the extra salary. There are 14 Westminster MPs elected to the Scottish Parliament and 7 to the Welsh Assembly.. FORESTS OF giant genetically engineered trees are being planned in a development which ecologists fear will threaten entire ecosystems. Pulp and paper companies have teamed up with the world's leading biotechnology firms to alter trees genetically to make them grow faster, pulp more easily and give them resistance to pests. But the drive to create "designer trees" has caused alarm among environmentalists who fear that it could cause irreparable damage to the plants, insects and animals that rely on trees to survive.They say that if logging companies create "custom-made" trees the world's forests could be disrupted, along with the complex ecosystems they sustain.They also fear that new GM traits - such as herbicide resistance - will be spread to natural trees, creating hybrids.