Last June The Daily Mail in the UK ran a story about what is projected to be the world’s largest, most luxurious private aircraft in the world–it’s a converted Airbus A380 and due for delivery sometime within the next two years. In some ways, from the descriptions, this makes riding on Air Force One look like riding in coach on your least favorite carrier.
Here, we won’t leave you to your imagination about what will be on this fabled plane, which according to the Daily Mail, the owner has yet to be identified but is presumed to be a Saudi prince.
The plane comes with a pull up garage, a large window on the bottom so you can look out at the ground immediately below your feet. There’s five suites, a prayer room that has mats that always rotate toward Mecca. Oh, and don’t forget the private concert hall, Turkish marble tub, and a board room with holographic projecting screens for conference calls with those back on the ground. There are even 20 sleepers for guests. And did we mention the suites also have king-sized beds?
This is an amazing design and the features are incredible.
But we all know from having ridden in coach at one time or another, that not all private aircraft are like this one. Still, what this aircraft will offer that other private jets offer that you can’t get in coach, is convenience, privacy and the ability to go when necessary. And that’s so critical to executives in this day of 24/365 motion around the world. Business deals can be secured and closed with an in-person meeting. Few things matter more than the genuine warmth of a handshake and a look in the eye of another to help ensure trust in a deal.
So now that you’ve seen pie in the sky (you know there’s a bakery in this plane) what features would you prefer in your own private plane? Obviously, we’re talking about the more practical features, but surely some day, some of the features on the Airbus A380 pictured above might make their way into the standard features category. If that were the case, would you be hoping for the glass flooring or the bath with Turkish marble to come first?