Exotic Flights is like the five-star Hooters of the private jet world. Scantily dressed “Flight Girls” serve up gourmet food and beverages to its exclusive clientele, and the company’s CEO, Rudy Gonzalez, encourages the girls to initiate conversation with passengers. By all means, the Miami-based company is anything but your typical aircraft charter company.
Outrageously high gas prices are no longer just affecting your average Joe. According to the video above, posted last Wednesday by Diddy’s camp, even the rapper has taken to flying commercial in an effort to save dough on his bi-monthly trips from New York to LA, which previously cost him between $200,000-$500,000 roundtrip on his private jet. Although Diddy’s still flying first class, we’re a little surprised to see him on American Airlines. Has the fat lady just sung?
Earlier today, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceShipOne designer, Burt Rutan, rolled out the new WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft for testing in the Mojave Desert this September. Designed to carry Virgin Atlantic space tourists on the first leg of their suborbital journey (before launching off on the second leg in SpaceShipTwo), the WK2 will hold six passengers and two pilots, with each passenger receiving a window seat.
A recent airplane listing for a 2002 Bombardier Global Express has the tech community buzzing that the plane is Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang’s private jet. While we can’t confirm the rumor, we have photos and details on the 13-passenger plane, which is being sold out of Hillsboro, Oregon. As you might expect from the Yahoo CEO, the plane’s interior styling is fairly boring, but it’s still stocked with all the gadgets and luxury amenities you’d expect in a plane that costs approximately $45 million new. Speculation indicates that Yang is likely upgrading to something newer. Check out the list of high-tech features and an image gallery after the jump.
Yesterday, Los Angeles based startup ICON unveiled its plans to produce an easy-to-operate lightweight amphibious airplane that will cost about as much as a top-of-the-line Mercedes. Dubbed the A5, ICON’s amphibious airplane concept has been designed to take off and land on water as well as dry land and travel up to 140 mph at altitudes of less than 10,000 feet.
With all the controls located on one digital screen, the ICON requires less experience to fly than a traditional aircraft. About 20 hours of flight training will qualify you for the new Sport Pilot License required to operate the A5, which costs between $3,000 and $4,500 total to obtain. Just in case 20 hours of training doesn’t make you comfortable in the pilot’s seath, the A5 will feature a built-in parachute just like Cirrus’ The-Jet.
Transporting the aircraft will simply require folding up the A5’s wings and trailering it behind a car. Expect the A5 to hit the market in 2010 with a price tag of $139,000.
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