If you’re tired of Ryanair strikes, long check-in queues and inedible aeroplane food, perhaps it is time to look at investing in a more luxurious way of flying.
The Qatari royal family has put one of its 747-8 Boeing Business Jet on the market. The jumbo jet is in pristine condition having undergone a “VVIP” interior installation before being put to work by the family in 2015.
The plane, which is for sale online through Swiss aviation company, has flown just 403.2 hours over 181 cycles (a cycle is classed as a takeoff and a landing), which in aeronautic terms means it is practically unused.
The 747-8 is certified to carry up to 467 passengers, but this plane has been redesigned with just 76 passenger seats and 18 crew seats.
The two-storey aircraft is lavishly decorated and includes multiple lounges and office spaces perfect to finish off some last minute paperwork without the screams of neighbouring children, or the person in front of you reclining their seat immediately after take off.
And while you’ll escape the wipe-clean “pleather” seats of commercial aircraft, you’ll need healthy appetite for blue and gold interiors and an excessive amount of leather chairs for this to be your ideal way to fly.
And if you’re planning on some long-haul journeys, forget those nights of jumpy legs as you attempt to sleep in your paltry 32-inch economy seat; you can stretch out in your own suite with a full-sized double bed.
Now for the small matter of price: The plane’s four engines are valued at a cool €20 million each, making the aircrafts hardware an investment in itself, and while there is no public asking price, estimates of a cool £500 million (€558m) are being thrown around... so perhaps a wiser way to combat the stress of flying would be a staycation on the Wild Atlantic Way.
