The ultimate boy's toy?

A few weeks ago I blogged about luxury jetliners for very wealthy individuals and corporate use. Today the Daily Mail reports on a conversion planned for the biggest of them all, an Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft, for an unnamed (but clearly very wealthy) Middle Eastern client.

Imagine the perfect flying experience - no queues, a reclining seat, perhaps a glass of chilled champagne.

Add four-poster beds, a Turkish bath for four and somewhere to put the Rolls-Royce - not to mention a boardroom with holographic screens and a concert hall.

Then you've got a £300 million [US $486 million] flying palace - a superjumbo designed to order for a Middle Eastern prince.

When complete in three years time, the converted Airbus A380 will be the world's largest private jet.

Its fabulously wealthy owner is unknown, but names linked to the plane include Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, owner of the Savoy Hotel. It is being designed to order by the Worcestershire-based firm Design Q.

(Click to enlarge)

In a space normally given to 600 passengers, the owner and his guests will enjoy five-star treatment from the moment of arrival.

After driving up to his plane, he will have the car parked in the onboard garage.

A lift drops to the tarmac and a red carpet unfurls, with downlights to 'give the impression of turning up at the Oscars', according to Design Q's co-founder Gary Doy. The belly of the A380 has been turned into a relaxation zone, including a Turkish bath lined with marble only two millimetres [8/100ths of an inch] thick to keep the weight down.

Next door is a wellbeing room, with the floor and walls turned into a giant screen showing the ground down below. Guests can stand on a 'magic carpet' and watch the journey, a scented breeze blowing into the room.

If work really is unavoidable, the boardroom is on hand with iTouch screens and live share prices projected on to the tables. For conference calls, a business partner on the ground can be virtually projected on to the table to 'join' a meeting.

The five suites which form the owner's private quarters have king- size beds, entertainment systems and a prayer room featuring computer-generated prayer mats which always face Mecca. A lift shuttles between the plane's three floors, from the private quarters upstairs, down to the concert hall, featuring a baby grand piano and seating for ten, and to the garage below.

There's more at the link.

Oh, well . . . When I squeeze myself into an economy-class seat for an eight-hour flight in a few days' time, I'll try not to cry as I remember this article!

Peter