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 £300million 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.
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 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 computergenerated 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 are around 20 'sleepers' - the
equivalent of First Class seats - for extra guests. According to the designers,
the style is elegant curves and swirls of Arabic writing.
Mr Doy added: 'It is something very,
very special and there is nothing like it on the market yet.
'There is everything a billionaire
could want.
'We are not trying to put a hotel in
the air, it is tailored to the needs of flying, and has unique features which
fit into that. The Turkish bath is particularly spectacular, a steam room with
marble, low lights and lots of spa treatments to choose from.'
