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Tags: Private Jets / 2010 Olympics / Travel News / Vancouver Travel / Olympics Travel / → All Tags

FlexJet Now Scalping Olympics Tickets For $122,000

Fractional jet card provider Flexjet 25—which usually restricts itself to merely renting private jets to ostentatious elites who can't afford their own—has created a special package for the 2010 Winter Games. In addition to flying you and the date you're desperately trying to impress to Vancouver on one of their Bombardier aircraft, they'll put you up for 3 nights in the Sutton Place Hotel and guarantee you access to a bunch of high-level events.

You and your partner will have the chance to participate in the Closing Ceremony, attend the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game, and see three Short-Track Speed Skating gold medal races. You'll also have entrance into the Figure Skating Gala Exhibition, though you'll probably want to avoid it lest it impinge on the air of machismo you're obviously trying to build.

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Tags: Historical Travel / Qantas / Private Jets / Australia Travel / Around the World Travel / → All Tags

Take The Hop, Skip and Jump Route On A Private Qantas Jet To Australia

It seems hard to believe that it is almost 75 years since the first regular flights from Britain to Australia began, but it's apparently true that as far back as 1935, the wealthy were skipping the long boat trips and flying Down Under. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Australia flights next year, Qantas Holidays are putting on a real "trip of a lifetime" vacation on the historical "Nostalgia" and "Classical" routes.

Flying with a group of just 22 passengers on a classic Convair CV580 plane, the 22-day trip from London to Sydney (or the 21-day reverse journey) will be something quite special. With a maximum flying time of four hours per day, there are numerous stops in countries as diverse as the Czech Republic, Syria and Vietnam. Daily excursions could take you over the Himalayas, by water taxi to stilted houses in Brunei, or on a dawn cruise on the Ganges.

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Tags: The Mile High Club / Sex Travel / Oprah Travel / Oprah Winfrey / Private Jets / Lawsuits / → All Tags

Oprah's Private Jet Pilot And Flight Attendant Get Caught In The (Sex) Act

You know what two words we don't enjoy hearing placed together in a sentence? "Oprah" and "sex." But with a new lawsuit against the talk show host and one-woman conglomerate, it looks like we'll have to endure their combination for a while.

Recently one of Oprah's former flight attendants on her private jet files a defamation of character suit against Winfrey, since Winfrey had fired her after supposedly catching her joining the Mile High Club with the jet's pilot while in the air and as passengers (including Winfrey) slept. Although this sounds like a topic Oprah would use for a show—"no-limits intimacy," anyone?—the matter is serious and the flight attendant claims that Oprah's accusations are false since all sex acts between her and the pilot only occurred while "occurred while the plane was safely landed and refueling." Oh okay, because now that it's all clear, that makes it alright.

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Tags: Celeb Travel / Small Plane Travel / Brooke Shields / Private Jets / → All Tags

Celebrities And Small Planes: A Tragic Love Affair

Hey, did you hear Brooke Shields was in a plane crash? Don't worry, no one was hurt, unless you count the SUV the plane rolled into when it landed in southern California last weekend.

Shields was flying to a "private function" in a Cessna 421B with a few others, including Jim Belushi. The private function was at Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Safely landed, the pilot forgot to set the parking brake and the plane rolled into a rental car that was parked a few feet away. (So, maybe not such a great parking spot to pick either.)

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Tags: Super World Travelers / Celeb Travel / Brad Pitt / Angelina Jolie / Private Jets / Airports / → All Tags

Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Have Had Enough Of Commercial Airports

Some of us are looking forward to remodeling our bathrooms, others can't wait to upgrade their laptop, and then there are those who are champing at the bit to get started on building their own personal airstrip in France. Of course we refer to the one and only Super World Travelers, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

According to Private Jet Daily (which is just our favorite daily), Brangelina are sick and tired of paparazzi hounding them from both sides of the airport security check when they fly from commercial airports. Now that they've both got their private pilot licenses and plenty of space on their Chateau Miraval estate in France, an airstrip is the next logical step.

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Tags: What Recession / Private Jets / Travel Ads / → All Tags

Private Jet Companies Attempt To Justify Their Existence

Sweet ride! Advertising blog Copyranter just posted a gallery of private-jet advertisements pulled from a recent issue of Forbes. How dare they flaunt their wares in this climate? They don't deserve to advertise.

But seriously, it's funny how the ads attempt to appeal to current concerns about the economy while at the same time selling a product far out of the range of most travelers.

Dassault Falcon stresses the efficiency of its planes; FlexJet urges buyers to make a "true assessment" of the costs involved in traveling commercial (including driving and terminal time), asserting that a private jet does not say to observers, "I'm a well-heeled jet-setter who spends money frivolously." One might think they would have done better not to enter that line into their copy.

And Beechcraft even mentions the most famous recent private-jet-takers, the auto-company CEOs who took the flight of shame to Washington D.C. in December.

But our favorite has got to be Cessna's, which appeals to the ego by inferring that owning a private jet can make you stronger and more threatening to competitors (the peacock defense?).

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Tags: Recessionomics / Sarah Palin / Mississippi / Private Jets / → All Tags

Mississippi's Jet On eBay: Thanks, But No Thanks

Desperate times call for desperate measures: Under pressure to balance the budget, the Mississippi state legislature is contemplating selling its private jet, Sarah Palin-style.

House Appropriations Chair Johnny Stringer cited Palin as an inspiration when he proposed putting the $3.7-million Cessna Citation 8-seater, which costs $1,600 an hour to operate, up for sale. That would leave just three state-funded planes for lawmakers to share, including the jet's most frequent passenger, Republican Governor Haley Barbour.

Critics of the plan call it a partisan stunt and mention that the state still owes $500,000 on the jet. eBay might not even be the way to go after all: When a buyer for Alaska's $2.7 million jet fell through online, the state took a $600,000 hit and got rid of it privately.

Related Stories:
· Miss. may sell state jet on eBay [Clarionledger.com]
· Opinion: Think It Over Before Selling Governor's Jet [Hattiesburg American]

[Photo of Gov. Barbour, who may be forced to drive everywhere: DayLife.com]

Tags: Super Bowl Travel / Super Bowl XLIII / Private Jets / → All Tags

Gas Up the Jet, the Private Jet, for the Super Bowl

Calling any football fans with money to burn. If your team didn’t make it to Super Bowl XLIII, but you still want to go, you might as well go in style to help heal your pain. Although taking a stretch Escalade from the airport is nice, we’re talking about chartering a private jet. (Cue TI's "You Can Have Whatever You Like.")

Charter Logic has put together some completely unaffordable packages aboard a private Beechjet 400 from pretty much anywhere in the lower 48 states. Choose your favorite executive airport, sign over your house, and your tickets will be in your inbox before you know it. Once at the game you’ll enjoy your suite on the 35-yard line with unlimited access to food, beer, and more beer.

Of course, you’ll still need to find a place to crash after the game. Hotelchatter is always a good place to start your search. Although, if you have the money to throw down on private transportation, finding a hotel at a reasonable price will be the least of your problems.

Related Stories:
·Fly To Super Bowl In Private Luxury Jet [Examiner]
·Charter Logic [Official Site]
·Super Bowl Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: schuey]

Tags: Fumble! / Celeb Travel / Tom Brady / Gisele Bundchen / Private Jets / → All Tags

Brady-Bundchen Union: Real Or Fake?

When we reported on Friday about New England Patriot Tom Brady's private jet proposal to model girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, we were fixated on whether the gesture was splashy and sweet or tacky and tired. But while the private jet definitely took off, the wedding might not have: Brady relatives have emerged to say they didn't hear anything about an engagement from the quarterback.

"Nobody told me," Tom Brady, Sr. told The Boston Globe. "We talked to him and there’s nothing to say." The couple were also allegedly spotted out in Boston, not wearing wedding rings--although they could be faking! Maybe they were just peeved that Brady's plans reached the paparazzi before they were able to tell everyone.

On the bright side, if Brady's next surgery is going to take him out for the 2009 season as well, as The Sporting News says, he'll have plenty of time to actually propose and even get involved in the wedding.

Related Stories:
· Friday: Tom Brady Proposes on Paparazzi-free Flight [Jaunted]
· Tom Brady's Recovery Reportedly Well Behind Schedule [SportingNews.com]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Celebrity-gossip.net]

Tags: Private Jets / Celeb Travel / Tom Brady / Gisele Bundchen / → All Tags

Tom Brady Proposes On Paparazzi-free Flight

While a crowd of photogs swarmed sidelined Patriots QB Tom Brady as he arrived at Gisele Bundchen's New York townhouse on Christmas Eve, they certainly weren't lurking when he proposed late that night: Brady filled a private jet with white roses, stocked the bar with champagne and took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey for Boston before popping the question to his girlfriend of about two years.

While we can understand why a gal might want to marry Brady, we're still amazed that anyone would agree to fly to Boston at this time of year. Point that private jet south, lovers!

Related Stories:
· Brady and Gisele--Engaged! [TMZ]
· In Which We Discover The Cause Of Detroit's Money Woes [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gossip Girls]

Tags: Inevitable Lawsuits / Celeb Travel / Travis Barker / Small Plane Travel / Private Jets / → All Tags

Barker Sues Over Plane Crash

Who wants to go to court? Former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker has filed suit against the owner of the plane whose September crash sent him to the burn unit, as well as tire manufacturer Goodyear.

Because a blown tire contributed to the crash that killed four and sent Barker and DJ AM to the hospital, Barker is alleging that the plane was not in flying shape when it took off from Columbia Metropolitan Airport September 19. But pilot negligence may have contributed: In tapes from the air-traffic control room, the pilots are instructed to continue flying despite the blown tire, advice they clearly disregarded.

Barker, who still cannot swim because his body is covered in third-degree burns, told E! Online that DJ AM is not involved in the lawsuit, in which he seeks compensation for "pain and suffering, mental anguish, psychological and emotional distress and disfigurement and pre-impact fear of death and burning."

Related Stories:
· Audio Tapes From Travis Barker/ DJ AM Crash Released [MTV News]
· Recovery Travel: Details Emerge On AM/ Barker Crash [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Superficial]

Tags: Private Jets / Meltdownomics / → All Tags

In Which We Discover The Cause Of Detroit's Money Woes

High fuel prices hurting business? Fierce international competition forcing layoffs? Former presidential candidates badmouthing you? If you're the CEO of Chrysler, Ford or GM, that apparently means it's time for a private jet trip to Washington, DC to ask for a government bailout!

ABC News caught GM boss Rick Wagoner hopping on a G-IV to get from Detroit to the capital, while he could've taken Northwest Flight 2364 for just $288--or $837 for first class. Meanwhile, Ford's CEO Alan Mulally actually commutes between Seattle and Detroit by private jet; his company operates a fleet of eight planes for execs. Who do these guys think they are? AIG?

In all seriousness, Wagoner doesn't have it that good. After all, Gulfstream stopped making G-IVs in 2003, which means he's riding in a plane at least six model years old!

Related Stories:
· Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Bailout [ABC News]
· Private Jets coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of a G-IV: Wikimedia]