The maiden flight of luxury charter Crystal Skye will cost passengers US$45,000/seat
Genting Hong Kong is convinced its new bespoke private jet service will defy current travails in the commercial passenger airline market
Leisure giant Genting Hong Kong, which owns luxury cruise line operator Crystal Cruises, is looking to carve a profitable new niche in its industry, following the maiden flight from the city of its uber-luxury Crystal Skye private jet tour service during China’s “Golden Week” holiday.
“This is part of Genting Hong Kong’s strategic plan to drive the luxury travel market through the Crystal brand,” Kent Zhu Fuming, the president of subsidiary Genting Cruise Lines, told the South China Morning Post.
The inaugural itinerary of Crystal Skye – a fully customised Boeing 777-200LR aircraft that accommodates just 86 first-class guests – will cover an eight-night safari in Nairobi and a trip to the islands of Tahiti that will set back its customers a cool US$45,000 per passenger.
“We are anticipating an overwhelming response from the region ... for this extraordinary new travel option,” said Zhu, adding that private one-on-one meetings with prospective clients had been conducted over the past two months to gauge their interest.
Genting Hong Kong, part of the Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group, is managing the bespoke luxury airline charter in the Asia-Pacific. It acquired United States-based Crystal Cruises for US$550 million in 2015.
The company’s heady optimism for its new Crystal Skye AirCruises business defies the troubled situation in the commercial airline passenger market.