Peek inside the luxury Boeing tailored for the world’s richest
Plenty of legroom on Crystal Air Cruises’ new Boeing 777, which powers a luxury tour with stops in Nairobi, Kenya and Tahiti
On commercial airlines today, travelling in coach is a pain, while the wealthy are well looked after in first class. But for the ultrawealthy, there’s a whole other level available.
For China’s “Golden Week” holiday at the beginning of October, a group of rich Asians will take off from Hong Kong on a lavishly appointed Boeing 777 for a nine-day tour with stops at luxury hotels in Nairobi, Kenya and Tahiti. The cost is US$45,000 per person.
On Tuesday, that 777 was handed over to in a ceremony at Boeing Field.
It features a large cocktail-bar area, with seating for 24 guests to mix socially. To pass the time on a long flight, the tabletops in the bar can be inverted to offer video games or gaming.
A typical 777-200LR airliner like this one normally carries slightly more than 300 passengers, but aft of the bar on this jet is a passenger cabin with just 88 first-class, lie-flat seats.
After it was built in Boeing’s Everett factory, the plane spent two years at Moses Lake, where the customised interior — mostly white, with stone veneer and marble accents — designed by Greenpoint Technologies of Kirkland was installed under contract by a team from Aviation Technical Services, the Everett-based airplane maintenance company.
