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Home/America COVID-19/Corona Updates/COVID-19/US Corona/This French luxury tour company has planned multi-day around-the-world 'air cruises' using an Airbus A340 with lie-flat seats. Tickets start at $75,000.
This French luxury tour company has planned multi-day around-the-world 'air cruises' using an Airbus A340 with lie-flat seats. Tickets start at $75,000.
Using a chartered passenger jet, the company operates multi-day "air cruises" that take travelers around the world in an all-inclusive itinerary.
AirX Charters A340, registered 9H-BIG.
The tours include the private flights, 5-star hotels during stopovers, three meals a day, and excursions in each city.
Machu Picchu in Peru is a destination on The World Tour Grands Classiques 2023 itinerary.
Currently, there are two trips posted on the company's website: the 22-day World Tour Grands Classiques, which visits places in South America, Australia, and Asia…
The tour starts and ends in Paris and it runs from October 24, 2023, to November 14, 2023.
…and the 24-day World Tour Special Edition, which treks to Mexico, New Zealand, and Israel, among other countries.
The tour starts and ends in Paris and it runs from March 10, 2024, to April 2, 2024.
A Safrans du Monde spokesperson told Insider that reservations have been "booming" for two weeks and the company is "confident that the plane will be filled in no time, as every year."
Tasmania is a destination on The World Tour Grands Classiques 2023 itinerary.
Tourism Tasmania & Sean Fennessy
Prices range from $75,000 to $122,000 per person, with two fare options available — Club Safrans and Première Safrans.
AirX Charters A340, registered 9H-BIG.
Both include the fancy hotels and meals, but Première comes with added perks, like "first class" service on the A340, extra excursions, and "grand luxury" accommodations.
Première guests will get a seaplane ride over Sydney, Australia, and get to stay on Bora Bora in the French Polynesian.
Because everything is pre-planned, guests just need to show up — no worrying about where to stay, what to eat, or what to do.
Petra in the country of Jordan is a destination on The World Tour Grands Classiques 2023 itinerary.
The most convenient part is the chartered plane, which is leased from aircraft operators. For example, Safran du Monde rented from Portuguese charter company Hi Fly in November 2016...
The business class seats on the Hi-Fly A340 used by Safran du Monde in 2016. The plane was also equipped with an economy section.
Meanwhile, French boutique airline La Compagnie provided its 76-seater all-business class Airbus A321neo in 2021, 2022, and most recently on the "Grand Tour of the Americas" trip that departed on April 26, 2023.
La Compagnie is the world's only all-business class airline.
For the two upcoming trips, the plane will be rented from Maltese private charter airline AirX Charter, Safrans du Monde confirmed to Insider. Take a look inside the massive A340-300 — aptly nicknamed, BIG.
AirX Charters A340, registered 9H-BIG.
The VIP A340 entered the AirX fleet in 2016 after flying for SriLankan Airlines for 13 years...
The A340-300 when it flew for SriLankan Airlines, registered at the time as 4R-ADF.
...and it has been used for other high-dollar missions like flying from London to Barbados during the pandemic for $10,000 per roundtrip ticket
COVID-19 tests and a one-night quarantine were required before the wealthy travelers could go on vacation.
According to Safrans du Monde, the plane is equipped with 100 business class seats in a 2x2x2 configuration — perfect for duos traveling together.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
AirX
There is no economy section, though the aircraft is big enough to accommodate up to 440 people in a high-density passenger configuration.
Pictured is the economy class section of the Hi-Fly A340 flying the world tour for Safrans du Monde in 2016. Mixed cabins with both business and coach typically seat around 250-290 people on the A340.
The seat is plush and comfortable, but there is one downfall.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
AirX
While most passengers will have direct-aisle access, those by the window will have to step over their neighbor when the bed is fully flat.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
Safrans du Monde
Granted, there's about six and a half feet of space between each set of seats, so there is some wiggle room to maneuver around without disturbing a sleeping neighbor.
The seats can also be adjusted into recliners with the legrest up.
AirX
In addition to lie-flat beds, the comfortable loungers come with the regular bells and whistles of business class, including reading lights and linens…
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
AirX
…an adjustable headrest and a legrest…
AirX
…big tray tables, cupholders, and storage space…
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
Safrans du Monde
...a universal power outlet and a USB port...
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
Safrans du Monde
…gourmet food and alcoholic beverages, like local wines...
Safrans du Monde
…and a privacy divider.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
Moreover, Safrans du Monde says passengers will be given an "entertainment system" to use during the flight. A company spokesperson told Insider this will be a tablet with noise-reduction headphones — not a seatback TV.
Guests will not be able to use a seatback TV, but will have a tablet for entertainment.
Safrans du Monde
There is also a lounge area with two couches in the back of the jet for socializing and sipping on Champagne.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
AirX
"We can have a real conversation sitting on the sofa, having a drink," Safrans du Monde CEO Guy Bigiaoui in an April video tour of the jet.
A few pairs of business class seats are in between the two couches.
The daytime flights typically range from four to eight hours, but the longest is the 13-hour trek from Paris to Mexico City on the Special Edition tour.
The Paris to Rio de Janeiro route for the Grands Classiques tours takes about 12 and half hours.
Safrans du Monde
While there are pre-planned itineraries available to book, customers can also plan a trip wherever they want to go First Officer Bernhard, who flies the A340, said in the April video tour.
First Officer Bernhard in the AirX Charters A340 during a video tour in April 2023.
In fact, Safrans du Monde can build tailor-made trips from scratch thanks to its small team of travel specialists: "We can go to any place in the world," Bernhard said.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
In the same video, Bigiaoui explained the crew is used to working with "super VIP" individuals, like head of states, sports teams, and orchestras, so they are trained for a high level of customer service.
There are 12 crew members total onboard and they stay with guests for the entire trip. This includes two captions, one first officer, two lead flight attendants, and 7 regular flight attendants, a Safrans du Monde spokesperson told Insider.
"At the end of this trip you will remember your seat, you will remember all of the good times you had in this aircraft," Bigiaoui said.
Inside the AirX Charters A340.
Safrans du Monde is not the only tour company flying wealthy travelers around the world on an A340.
The first Airbus A340 to land on Antarctica.
Hi Fly
Luxury tour operator White Desert uses a leased A340 to transport people from South Africa to the remote continent of Antarctica.
HiFly's Airbus A340 it flies in partnership with White Desert to Antarctica.
Prices start at $14,500 per person for a one-day excursion, with overnight tours at Antarctic camps costing upwards of $104,000.
White Desert guests on skis at an Antarctic camp.
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