British engineer Rolls-Royce has successfully used hydrogen instead of conventional jet fuel to power a modern aircraft engine in a world first for the aviation industry, according to the company.
The ground test, which took place at a government test facility at Boscombe Down, used green hydrogen generated by wind and tidal power from the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Rolls-Royce used a converted AE 2100-A turboprop engine that powers civil and military aircraft to conduct the test in partnership with easyJet.
It marks another step in the industry’s attempts to prove that hydrogen could play a viable role to help companies reduce harmful carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. The Race to Zero pledge backed by the United Nations is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and airlines are pushing to use more sustainable fuel as an alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel.
Flying is one of the most difficult industries to decarbonize, and technologies such as electricity or hydrogen-powered aircraft are still years from carrying a plane full of people over long distances. Airbus plans to use a superjumbo A380 to test hydrogen-powered jet engines as part of a plan to bring a zero emissions aircraft into service by 2035.
The Toulouse-based group is working with CFM International, a joint venture between France’s Safran and General Electric of the US, to develop an engine that can run on hydrogen.
The Rolls-Royce-led trial, although not involving flying an aircraft, is part of a new hydrogen demonstration program launched in the summer by the FTSE 100 group in partnership with easyJet after research showed there was market potential for hydrogen-powered aircraft.
The two companies plan to move on to a second set of tests, which will in turn lead up to a full-scale ground trial of a Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 business jet engine.
Grant Shapps, UK business secretary, described the demonstration as a “prime example of how we can work together to make aviation cleaner while driving jobs across the country.”
Grazia Vittadini, Rolls-Royce chief technology officer, said the test was an “exciting milestone.” “We are pushing the boundaries to discover the zero carbon possibilities of hydrogen, which could help reshape the future of flight.”
This Jet’s Bold, Colorful Interior Is an Ode to the Work of Japanese Artist Kazuo Shiraga.
The owner of the Global 5000 loves the artist’s painting so much, he decided to devote an entire central bulkhead to it. The owner decided to brighten up the 10-year-old staid, corporate interior of his jet with more than a splash of color. Instead, he went for the nuclear option of primary colors that more than faintly resembles a painting by Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga. But the resemblance is more than passing because the jet’s owner also has that Shiraga painting hanging in his home.
“The painting in the jet was created as a direct inspiration from one of his pieces,” Jim Dixon, Winch Design’s managing partner and creative director of yachts and aviation, told Robb Report. “Of course, you couldn’t install a piece like that on board an aircraft. There isn’t the real estate.” Especially considering it occupies the entire central area that separates the forward part of the jet from the owner’s personal area in the rear.
London-based Winch had recently completed another interior refit project aboard the unnamed owner’s yacht, who then felt like his jet needed a serious update. “It had dark seats and dark wood veneer, so we wanted to freshen it up,” says Dixon.
Besides the mural, the designers also lightened the veneers, leathers and even the carpeting, while also adding subtle, diagonal patterns across the interior that held everything together. Beyond the big splash of color, Dixon said the team “didn’t want to go overboard” with the rest of the interior. “It’s clearly the centerpiece,” he says.
The process was much more involved than hiring an artist to paint on a door. Winch had to submit all the paints and other materials for certification through European aviation authorities, while Bombardier UK took the jet’s interior apart piece by piece, and then shipped those pieces to AeroVisto’s completions facility in Switzerland.
AeroVisto then did the interior refit. “It took a lot of logistical jiggling with some technical challenges to complete the project,” says Dixon.
When the section that would hold the mural was ready, it was shipped back to the UK where the artist painted it over a six-week period. The result was the dramatic change in a space that the owner had become used to flying.
“Many owners become accustomed to flying in a standard corporate business jet,” says Dixon, “but some eventually want something that expresses their individuality. We really enjoy those projects.”
Dubai: Prime residential prices in Dubai, which encompass the neighbourhoods of The Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Bay Island, are set to experience the strongest price growth globally, according to global property consultancy, Knight Frank’s 2023 Prime Predictions.
Faisal Durrani, Partner – Head of Middle East Research, explained: Dubai’s prime residential market has and continues to be a global outlier, with record price growth in 2022, albeit this has been from a low base. Prime values are being fuelled by Dubai’s safe-haven status, an exceptionally diverse range of international ultra-high-net-worth individuals in search of luxury second homes, combined of course with the government’s world-leading response to the pandemic, which has spurred business confidence.
“Adding to the city’s appeal is its relative ‘affordability’, with prime homes transacting for around US$800 per square foot, making Dubai one of the most ‘affordable’ luxury residential markets in the world. Overall residential prices trail 2014 peak levels by 21.4%.”
DUBAI’S SUPPLY CHALLENGE
Dubai’s perennial challenge has been its ‘build-it-and-they-will-come’ mantra, which has resulted in more homes being built than the market is capable of absorbing. In this cycle however, Knight Frank says the number of new high-end homes planned is failing to keep pace with demand.
Bulgari Lighthouse on Jumeirah Bay Island (31 apartments) and Alpago’s Palm Flower on the Palm Jumeirah (11 apartments) account for the bulk of new high-end homes coming to the city’s prime neighbourhoods.
OUTLOOK FOR 2023
Knight Frank says Dubai’s mainstream residential market is expected to register price increases of 5-7% by the end of 2022 and a similar rate of growth is expected in 2023.
Durrani said, “For prime Dubai, prices are likely to end the year around 50% higher than 2021. Supply is the other critical factor in our 2023 outlook, with just eight villas in Dubai’s prime precincts expected to be delivered by 2025. Developers have not responded to the buoyancy in demand as we have seen in past cycles and with supply remaining limited and demand for luxury waterfront continuing to strengthen, our 2023 prime residential forecast of 13.5% is supported by a clear demand-supply imbalance as well as a positive economic backdrop. Indeed, the UAE is expected to have one of the world’s fastest growing economies in the world in 2022. A return to steady and sustainable growth will instil confidence in homeowners and investors alike.
“Our outlook is not without its risks. Dubai is a world city and as such is to an extent vulnerable to global macroeconomic conditions. With increasing global economic uncertainty, Dubai is once again emerging as a safe haven destination, just as it did during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
PRIME GLOBAL RESIDENTIAL MARKETS
Across the 25 cities tracked, Knight Frank’s global research network now expects prime residential prices to rise by 2.0% on average in 2023, down from 2.7% predicted six months ago. Despite this slowdown, aggregate growth in 2023 would still be higher than that recorded in six of the last ten years.
Knight Frank says after two years in which the pandemic fuelled a surge in house prices in most global cities, the landscape is now shifting. Money is becoming more expensive, geopolitics more complex and China is no longer powering the world’s economy. Homeowners are having to grapple with the
unpredictability of soaring inflation, the rising cost of debt and higher taxes. Although prime markets are more insulated to the fallout from higher mortgage costs, they’re not immune.
The transition from a sellers to a buyer’s market is already underway across many prime residential markets. But prime residential prices would need to dip by 30-40% in some cities for prices to return to their pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to Knight Frank’s analysis.
Business travel came back this year stronger than most industry analysts had predicted in the depths of the pandemic, with domestic travel rebounding by this fall to about two-thirds of the 2019 level.
But in recent weeks, it appears to have hit a new hurdle — companies tightening their spending in a slowing economy.
Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst for Atmosphere Research, said that corporate travel managers have told him in the past few weeks that companies have started to ban nonessential business travel and increase the number of executives needed to approve employee trips. He said he was now predicting that corporate travel would soften slightly for the rest of the year and probably remain tepid into the first quarter of 2023.
Harteveldt also said his conversations led him to believe that business travel would “come in below the levels airline executives discussed in their third-quarter earnings calls.”
Airlines were bullish on those earnings calls, a little over a month ago. Delta Air Lines, for one, said 90% of its corporate accounts “expect their travel to stay the same or increase” in the fourth quarter. United Airlines, too, said its strong third-quarter results suggested “durable trends for air travel demand that are more than fully offsetting any economic headwinds.”
Hotels, too, were optimistic. Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton, said on his earnings call that overall occupancy rates had reached more than 73% in the third quarter, with business travel showing growing strength.
The change in mood has come as the economy has more visibly slowed. Technology companies, in particular, have been announcing significant layoffs. Housing lenders have also been reducing staff, as rising mortgage rates cut into their business.
The travel industry has long relied on business travel for both its consistency and profitability, with companies often willing to spend more than leisure travelers. When the pandemic almost completely halted business travel in 2020, people were forced to meet via teleconference, and many analysts predicted that the industry would never fully recover.
But business travel did come back. As the economy reopened, companies realized that in-person meetings serve a purpose. In a survey taken in late September by the Global Business Travel Association, a trade group, corporate travel managers estimated that their employers’ business travel volume in their home countries was back up to 63% of pre-pandemic levels, and international business travel was at 50% of those levels.
One reason international business travel has not come back as strongly, Harteveldt said, is that some employers have imposed restrictions on high-priced business-class airline tickets for long-haul flights. He said employers are instead requiring travelers to take a cheaper connecting flight or to fly nonstop in premium economy or regular economy class.
“Travelers are telling managers they won’t fly long haul in economy if they have to go directly to a meeting when they arrive,” Harteveldt said.
What will business travel look like in the next year?
Pandemic travel restrictions will probably play less of a role. A survey by Tourism Economics, U.S. Travel Association and J.D. Power released in October found that 42% of corporate executives had policies in place restricting business travel because of the pandemic, down from 50% in the second quarter. Over half expected pandemic-related business travel policies to be reevaluated in the first half of 2023.
With Americans able to work remotely, many are combining professional and leisure travel, airline and hotel executives said on recent earnings calls. That was a big reason travel did not drop off in September, when the peak vacation period ended, as it used to in years past.
Jan Freitag, national director for hospitality market analytics at CoStar Group, said hotel occupancy by business travelers currently varies by market, with occupancies high in markets such as Nashville, Tennessee; Miami; and Tampa, Florida — places where business travelers may well be taking “bleisure” trips. But hotel occupancies by business travelers are low in markets such as Minneapolis, San Francisco and Houston.
Freitag said lower hotel occupancies in some cities may reflect a lower return-to-office rate in those places, which reduces the ability to have in-person business meetings.
Freitag said he was “very bullish on group travel, trips for meetings, association events, to build internal culture.” Those trips will recover more quickly, he predicted, than individual business travel.
“It’s all about building relationships,” he said. “It’s very hard to do that online.”
On the other hand, short business meetings and employee training sessions may continue to be conducted online, which is less expensive than in person, said Grant Caplan, president of Procurigence, a consulting firm in Houston that advises companies on spending for business travel, meetings and events.
Even as business travel has resumed, hotels, airlines and airports still have inadequate staffing. A survey of hoteliers by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, a trade group, released in October found that 87% of respondents were experiencing staffing shortages. Although that was an improvement over May, when 97% of respondents said they were short-staffed, the current findings do not bode well for smooth hotel stays.
Disruptions in flying, particularly in the United States and Europe — because of weather delays, inadequate flight crews or air traffic control and security issues at airports — have been notoriously high, particularly earlier this year.
Although “we can’t say that these disruptions have discouraged business travel, they have clearly complicated” the experience for travelers, said Kathy Bedell, senior vice president of the Americas and affiliate program for BCD Travel, a travel management company.
Kellie Kessler, a pharmaceutical clinical researcher in Raleigh, North Carolina, said the travel disruptions she faced this year were too much. She changed jobs recently to take one that requires her to travel on business 10% of the time, compared with 80% in her previous position.
“The reason I took a nontravel position is that I can count on one hand the number of on-time flights I had this year,” she said.
And flight disruptions have led to a decline in some road warriors’ loyalty to airlines, even those who have accrued elite status in the carriers’ frequent-flyer programs.
“The disruptions overall have caused me to be less loyal to any one airline,” said Trey Thriffiley, CEO of QIS Aviation Group, a consulting company in Savannah, Georgia, that advises individuals and companies about their use of private jets. He is also an elite member of the loyalty programs at Delta, United and American Airlines. “Instead of searching by preferred airline or even cheapest price,” he said, “I search for direct flights or connecting flights to cities closest to where I live that I can drive home from if I need to.”
Airlines’ bullish forecasts notwithstanding, some experts find prospects for business travel this fall and next year extremely murky.
They say they cannot accurately predict how strong business travel will be and what airfares and hotel room rates will look like because of many unknowns, including the duration of the war in Ukraine and its effect on the European and global economies; increasing gasoline and jet fuel prices; and rising inflation, recession fears and political uncertainty.
Harteveldt, the travel industry analyst, said the recovery of business travel varies by geographic region, with the United States rebounding faster than Europe.
He said the Chinese government could be using its reopening strategy “in a geopolitical way,” adding, “If a country is more friendly, China will grant access to that country’s business and leisure travelers rather than to travelers from countries with which China has greater political differences.”
He predicted that 2023 would be a “difficult year” for business travel unless the war in Ukraine “comes to an abrupt end and there is more certainty about oil and the price of jet fuel.” Also a factor, he said, could be decisions by companies that may have added too much staff during the pandemic to save money by reducing business travel rather than by laying people off.
“If there’s a symbol that can be used to describe the outlook for business travel in 2023, it’s a question mark,” he said. “No airline, travel management company or travel manager can be 100% certain what 2023 will bring right now. It’s one of the most confounding, confusing times to be in business travel, perhaps in decades.”
In a report issued in August, Mike Eggleton, director of research and intelligence at BCD Travel, had a similar take on the immediate future for business travel. “Producing a credible travel pricing forecast in the current environment is incredibly difficult,” he wrote. “The near-term travel outlook is more uncertain than ever. Volatility has never been so high and seems likely to persist. There’s vast variation in market performance and outlook.”
Going forward, Bedell said, perhaps the overriding question about business travel will be whether the trip is necessary.
“Client-facing and revenue-generating travel is taking a priority over internal meetings,” she said.
Scientists and youth campaigners blocked an entrance to Farnborough Airport on Thursday, November 10 to demand the end to the ‘obscene, polluting use of private jets’, as part of the new ‘Make Them Pay’ global campaign (Extinction Rebellion )
Farnborough Airport has scrapped controversial plans that would have allowed it to sideline “vexatious complaints” by members of the public against Europe’s premier private jet facility.
In a now-withdrawn planning application to Rushmoor Borough Council, Farnborough Airport Limited had sought consent to amend its ‘complaints procedure charter’, allowing it to effectively sideline serial complainers on issues such as airport noise, flight paths and air pollution.
The complaints procedure charter is a legal agreement forming part of the 2011 planning consent that saw the airport increase its aviation movements from 28,000 to 50,000 per year.
The original planning agreement states: “A record of all complaints received regarding the site shall be kept including the name, address, contact details of the complainant and detail of the complaint regarding noise, air quality, odour, track keeping (including varying from preferred noise routes) and alleged vortex damage”.
It continued: “A record shall also be kept of the response in terms of its timing details as to the cause(s) of the complaint and the action taken if any to remedy the situation.”
However, Farnborough Airport Ltd applied to keep only a record of complaints, and responses, “save for those complaints deemed to be vexatious complaints.”
The airport defines ‘vexatious’ complaints as:
Submission of complaints with very high volume and frequency of correspondence.
Requests for information the complainant has already seen, or clear intention to reopen issues that have already been considered.
Where complying with the request would impose significant burden on the airport in terms of time resources, and negatively impact our ability to provide responses to others.
Where the complaint lacks any serious purpose or value.
If its proposed changes had been allowed to proceed, it would have allowed the airport to pass the buck of responding to any ‘vexatious’ complaints to Rushmoor Borough Council.
The airport added the reasons for the proposed changes were to “reflect changes in technology, data protection, and for complaints recording to introduce a new provision for repeat ‘vexatious complaints’.”
Its application added: “The changes will ensure that time and resources are deployed only to deal with legitimate complaints that raise matters of relevance to the provisions of the planning obligations and are designed to prevent deliberate and vexatious undermining of the complaint management process.”
Farnborough’s plans were, however, withdrawn on Wednesday last week before being scrutinised in public by council planning officers and councillors.
It comes amid a concerted campaign by the newly-formed Farnborough Noise group, calling on the airport to widen the scope of its Post Implementation Review of airspace changes to fully consider the impact of increased overflights on communities.
Report by By Allison Lampert and Abhijith Ganapavaram (Reuters)
Bombardier on Thursday reported a smaller adjusted loss in the third quarter, as robust demand for private jet travel boosted the aircraft maker’s margins. Montreal-based Bombardier said its third-quarter adjusted loss narrowed to $2 million from $95 million a year earlier.
Corporate jet makers have reported swelling order backlogs on persistent strong demand for flying private, especially in the United States, the world’s largest market for business aviation. Bombardier said its order backlog grew 23% to $15 billion.
The company, which faced a cash crunch in 2015, is focused on lowering debt, which it reduced by $100 million during the quarter. Planemakers, however, face pressure from supply chain and labor disruptions as well as soaring inflation and broader concerns over a softening global economy.
Bombardier Chief Executive Eric Martel said 2022 deliveries remain on track for more than 120 aircraft and he expects to grow production by 15% to 20% next year. “We are well equipped to face any market condition that will be ahead of us,” he told analysts. The company reported third-quarter free cash flow of $52 million, compared with $100 million last year. Martel said Bombardier could benefit from demand for planes following consolidation among business jet fleet operators. “I think we have to anticipate that there will be probably further consolidation which could be to our advantage,” he said.
Bombardier reported an adjusted loss of $0.10 per share. Analysts on average were expecting a loss of $0.48 per share according to Refinitiv data. Unadjusted, the company swung to a $27 million profit from a $377 million loss during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose slightly to $1.46 billion from a year earlier, boosted by a 20% year-over-year increase in aftermarket revenues, despite delivering fewer higher-priced large planes.
Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $1.597 billion.
Join Sam Chui who flew across the Atlantic in the latest VIP Jet the Falcon 6X. At the end of NBAA 2022, Sam hopped on the new experimental Dassault Falcon 6X, the latest Falcon jet transatlantic from Orlando to Paris.
It was his first time flying on a private jet across the Atlantic and what an experience it was says, Sam! The Falcon 6X is in a new category of Business Aviation: the Ultra Widebody business jet. It flies at a top speed of Mach 0.90 and has a 5,500nm (10,186 km) range.
Sam said: “On this factory demonstrator, the rear sofa on each side can turn into a huge super king bed. I experienced a good night of sleep and watch the sunrise in bed with breakfast at 47,000 ft.”
The global business jet market by equipment type, systems, end user classification, point of sale, services, range and region is projected to grow from its current value of $30.1 billion to $41.8 billion in the next eight years.
Major players operating in the business jets market include Textron Incorporated in the US, Embraer SA , in Brazil, Gulfstream Aerospace, in the US, Bombardier Incorporated in Canada and Dassault Aviation, in France among others.
These companies have well-equipped manufacturing facilities and strong distribution networks across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Findings indicate that the market is projected to grow at a Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (GAGR), of 4.2 percent in eight years. The triggers for the projected spike investigations reveal is occasioned by rise in demand of improved in- flight passenger comfort.
Other factors to propel growth, findings also reveal is the emergence of e- VTOL aircraft and high demand for private jets and chartered airplanes. Based on end use, the operators segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR in the business jets market during the forecast period.The growth of this segment, experts say, could be attributed to the introduction of a variety of business jet programs like charter flight services and jet card services.
Based on aircraft type, the light airplane segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR in the business jets market during the forecast period. Rise in demand for intercity and short-haul travel is expected to drive the overall demand in the business jets market. The Middle East Region is expected to be the fastest-growing region for the business jets market during the forecast period.
The growth of the market in the Middle East Region is driven by the increase in air travel in the region. An increase in aircraft orders for light aircraft across the globe is a major driver for the rise in business aircraft deliveries from the Middle East. In addition, considerable growth in trade and tourism and VVIP travel are among the crucial factors anticipated to fuel the regional demand for the business aircraft.
The establishment of a regional MRO service centre in Bahrain, serving both commercial and private aviation, has been announced by MENA Technics (a subsidiary of Bahrain’s MENA Aerospace Enterprises) and USA-based Aviance Global. The centre will be a collaboration with NextGen Aviation Services (formerly known as Pulsar Aviation Services), a subsidiary of Aviance Global, and introduces a Part 145 EASA set-up for base maintenance.
Together with Aviance Global/NextGen Aviation Services, MENA Technics will offer a full turnkey solution to both private aviation and commercial airlines for heavy checks. The two-party collaboration plans to expand the services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the near future, to offer the same support services to clients there.
As part of the agreement, MENA Technics and Aviance Global/NextGen Aviation will offer their expertise in developing and training Bahraini personnel who are accredited with aircraft maintenance licenses. It is estimated that 10 Bahraini aircraft engineers and 20 technicians will benefit from the training over the next three years. This training programme is supported by Tamkeen under its Train and Place programme.
“As part of MENA Aerospace’s long-term growth strategy, the opening of our own full-service MRO facility in collaboration with Aviance Global/NextGen Aviation in Bahrain supports the kingdom’s efforts in strengthening its position as a key aviation and logistics hub both regionally and globally,” said Dr Mohammed Juman, founder and managing director of MENA Aerospace.
“When presented with the opportunity for Aviance Global to expand into Bahrain and the wider GCC market, MENA Technics was the obvious choice,” said Phillip Edinborough, founder, president and CEO of Aviance Global. “This partnership enhances the services and expertise offered in Bahrain to both regional and global customers, and paves way for further expansion in the near future.”
“Our focus is to provide one-stop solutions to our clients and the establishment of our MRO centre allows us to serve our clients even better,” said Khalid Hamza, MENA Technics accountable manager. “With our own MRO centre, we are positioned to offer full turnkey solutions to third-party Airbus, Boeing and Gulfstream aircraft for both private and commercial airlines. The centre also facilitates performing our own in-house maintenance to our expanding fleet.”
The Global 7500 is the world’s largest purpose-built private jet, complete with a bedroom, and is owned by celebrities like Kylie Jenner. VistaJet is the world’s largest private charter company, sporting the largest fleet of Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft.
The Global 7500 is the largest purpose-built private jet in existence and will cost buyers a whopping $75 million. I flew on a $50 million Bombardier Global 5000 private jet from Montreal to New Jersey and saw why those who can afford it are flocking to private aviation. Also being the world’s longest-ranged private aircraft, the jet can fly up to 14 hours across 7,700 nautical miles on routes like New York to Tel Aviv and Los Angeles to Sydney, per Bombardier.
While it can’t quite break the speed of sound, the jet flies at .925 Mach and can fly between New York and Los Angeles in as little as three and a half hours. The plane was recently popularized by Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault when he sold it to avoid jet-tracking Twitter accounts. The world’s 2nd-richest man, Louis Vuitton’s CEO, sold his private jet after people started tracking it on Twitter: ‘No one can see where I go’.
In March, VistaJet took on its 10th Global 7500 and has since received five more for a total of 15. Overall, the company has invested $4 billion in new planes, VistaJet US president Leona Qi told Insider.
The additions come as private aviation continues to boom post-pandemic, with Qi saying the company has seen a huge increase in demand, particularly to places like the Caribbean and Aspen. A travel planner for the ultrawealthy shares what goes into organizing $800,000 trips to exclusive locations.
“The U.S. remains the company’s strongest and fastest-growing region,” she said. “In the last quarter alone, 70% of US hours sold were attributable to new VistaJet Program Members.”
But the luxury isn’t cheap. A VistaJet Global 7500 flight will run customers between $12,000 and $20,000 per hour, though the company doesn’t publish its rates. It costs around $10,650 to rent the Global 7500 for an hour, according to Paramount Business Jet.According to aviation site Liberty Jet, the plane’s operating costs come out to around $2 million dollars when flown for 200 hours, and $3.1 million when flown for 400 hours.Fuel and engine overhaul make up the most expensive costs in operating the jet, per the aviation site.
The ultra-wealthy opt for the convenience of flying private because they don’t have to clear security or traverse crowded airports as the aircraft typically depart out of fixed-based operators. I flew out of a general aviation airport to see how the rich travel. I didn’t miss the hassle, lines, and frustration of commercial flying.
While the lack of screening could seem concerning to some people, the Transportation Security Administration does not have as strict of oversight for private jets because “the passengers choose to travel together.”
“They may be related to one another in some way, such as being employed by the same company or on the same sports team, and so the risk that one passenger would endanger the others appeared to be low,” the agency said in a 2002 final rule.
To see how the ultra-wealthy travel, I took a demo flight on VistaJet’s Global 7500 from Miami to New Jersey — here’s what it was like. I arrived at Signature Flight Support at 1 p.m. for a 1:30 p.m. departure. Media took a one-minute bus ride from curb to plane, and, as mentioned, I didn’t have to scan any luggage or walk through a metal detector.
Once on the aircraft, I was immediately blown away by the size. I could see myself easily spending 14 hours onboard. Qi took us on a tour of the jet, saying the aircraft has an extra living section not available on competitor planes, like the Gulfstream 650ER. I toured a $65 million Gulfstream G650ER private jet like the ones owned by billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and saw how the ultra-rich travel.
This makes the aircraft the largest of any business jet on the market. The four spaces include a meeting space, which has two sets of seats facing each other… a six-person dining room, a theater room that can double as a conference room, and a master suite, complete with a double bed, lounger, and bookcase.
Qi explained the design is VistaJet-specific, saying the flooring has been the same since the company’s founding 18 years ago.
I loved the design of the interior. It was elegant, and easy on the eyes. I think the theater room and bedroom truly make the plane feel like home, which is one of the goals of VistaJet.In total, the plane can seat 14 people and sleep eight. There are five beds total, including three double beds — one each in the bedroom, theater/conference room, and dining area — and two singles made from converting the loungers in the front living space.
The single beds are similar to what is seen on other private jets, like a Gulfstream G280. To have eight people sleep, six travelers would have to be in couples or be family members. Otherwise, five people could sleep comfortably — one in each double bed and two in the singles. The seats and beds feature soft Egyptian cotton blankets and pillows, Qi told Insider.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, better known as Neymar Jr. or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian football icon widely counted among the greatest of the game in the modern era. Neymar is also one of the richest footballers in the world with a net worth of USD 95 million, as per Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes of 2022.
As a forward, Neymar is one of the most prolific attackers for his club and country in the sport. He was acquired by Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) from La Liga club Barcelona in 2017 for USD 263 million — the highest-ever transfer fee for any footballer in history.
A look at Neymar’s achievements with club and country
Neymar and the Brazil national team squad during a practice session at 2022 FIFA World Cup. (Image: Courtesy of NJ/@neymarjr/Instagram)
Due to his outstanding ability to find gaps in opposition defences, Neymar Santos Jr. has become one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time. He is one of the only three footballers after Brazilian legend Romario and Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo to have scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs.
His talent has helped his clubs and the national team win several championships over the years.
The star footballer made his debut at the age of 17 in 2009 for Santos, a major team in the Brazilian top tier known as Campeonato Paulista. Due to him, the club won its only ever Recopa Sudamericana and Copa do Brasil trophies. He was also instrumental in the club’s Copa Libertadores win for the first time since the 1960s and two of its Campeonato Paulista league championships.
Besides his success at Santos, Neymar won a FIFA Club World Cup, a UEFA Champions League cup, two La Liga championships, one UEFA Super Cup and three Spanish Cup trophies with Barcelona. He has also won four Ligue 1 titles, three French Cup trophies and four French Super Cup championships with PSG.
For the Brazilian national team, Neymar brought home the Confederations Cup in 2013 and the Olympic Gold medal at Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. He has also played for the team at FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 2022 edition held in Qatar.
The Barcelona transfer case
Image: Courtesy of FC Barcelona/@FCBarcelona/Twitter
Neymar signed up with Barcelona in 2013 before moving to France to play for PSG in 2017. While both his football contracts have been in the news, they have been for completely different reasons. The PSG transfer was a record-setter, but the transfer from Santos to Barcelona landed the footballer in trouble.
In October 2022, Neymar and eight others, including his parents, went on trial in Barcelona for fraud and corruption charges connected to the transfer. While Barcelona maintained that the transfer cost of USD 55.3 million, prosecutors alleged that it was worth USD 80.5 million and sought a two-year jail term and impose a fine of USD 10 million on Neymar.
The transfer became part of an investigation in 2015 after Brazilian investment firm DIS formally complained that it had lost part of its rightful cut as it owned 40 percent of Neymar’s economic rights during his time at Santos.
However, prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against Neymar and others, allowing the court to acquit everyone in the case.
One of the world’s highest-paid athletes
The Brazilian footballer poses with Puma shoes. (Image: Courtesy of NJ/@neymarjr/Instagram)
Neymar is the world’s fourth highest-paid athlete as per the Forbes list of 2022, behind Ronaldo and Argentine legend Lionel Messi.
Interestingly, Neymar has been playing football with Messi in PSG and was also with the Argentine at Barcelona.
Forbes estimates that Neymar’s net worth includes USD 70 million from his PSG salary and bonuses on the field during the 12-month period between 1 May 2021 and 1 May 2022.
His off-field earnings were an estimated USD 25 million, primarily from his endorsements for Puma and Red Bull. During this period, he was also the subject of the Netflix documentary Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, which was released on 25 January 2022.
The Sun reported in 2018 that Neymar was the world’s most branded footballer at the time with 35 endorsements that included the likes of Nike, Qatar National Bank and Beats. Accordingly, at the time his number was perhaps higher than even Ronaldo and Messi’s endorsements.
Nike ended its deal with Neymar in August 2020. A year later, the company said that it decided to terminate the deal after the footballer refused to cooperate with an investigation connected to an alleged sexual assault on a Nike employee by Neymar in 2016. Neymar has denied the charge.
Outside of football, Neymar is involved with his charitable organisation, Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr., which works with economically weak, less educated, crime- or drug-affected families in Praia Grande to help bring a positive change in their lives.
Expensive things Neymar owns
Neymar holidaying with friends on a yacht in August 2021. (Image: Courtesy of NJ/@neymarjr/Instagram)
In 2012, when he was still playing for Santos, Neymar bought a second-hand yacht costing around USD 8 million.
Named after his mother, Nadine, the yacht reportedly is an Azimut 78-type vessel. Measuring 25 metres in length, the yacht has three or four suites and at least one living room. It has plush interiors and comfy sofas for a completely luxurious boating experience on the seas like Neymar would prefer.
When he bought the yacht, Forbes reported that the yacht required a maintenance expenditure of USD 120,000 every year and would lose value at the rate of 5-10 percent annually.
Thus, when four years later, a Brazilian court ordered the seizure of around USD 42 million of his assets, including his yacht and private jet, in a tax evasion case, some reports said that the value of the yacht was around USD 4 million.
Neymar strikes a pose with his Embraer Phenom 100 private jet. (Image: Courtesy of Neymar Jr/@neymarjr/Twitter)
Neymar, his girlfriend Bruno Biancardi and his sister Rafaella Santos had a close escape when the aircraft they were flying in had to make an emergency landing in the Brazilian city of Boa Vista. Following the incident, the footballer’s agency said in a statement that the aircraft had developed a “small problem in the windshield wiper.”
The jet, a Cessna Citation Sovereign (Model 680), is owned by his agency, Neymar Sport E Marketing, and is worth around USD 17.5 million. Some reports suggest that the private aircraft was bought in 2016.
The Brazilian footballer reportedly also owned another private aircraft — a Phenom 100 by Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer. Neymar also posted a picture of him sitting on the airstair of the jet in June 2015. The picture shows his initials “NJR” on the tail of the small business aircraft capable of seating six. The word “Power” was also emblazoned on the body.
It is not clear what happened to the aircraft, but it was one of the assets that the court had ordered to be seized in connection to the tax evasion case. The price of this aircraft was reportedly around USD 4 million.
The PSG star with his Airbus H145 in the background. (Image: Courtesy of NJ/@neymarjr/Instagram)
Besides his private plane, Neymar also has a personal Airbus H145 helicopter, which he got custom-designed to make it appear like, what reports suggest, a Batcopter — the helicopter that is one of the many machines that Batman has been seen using in the comic books, animated series and movies.
According toThe Daily Mirror, Neymar is believed to be a huge fan of DC Comics. He has especially dressed up as the Dark Knight at some parties. Several reports suggest that Neymar’s Airbus H145 has interior styling by Mercedes-Benz.
Interestingly, Airbus had, in 2015, launched an exclusive VIP version of the aircraft with Mercedes-Benz for high-end private and corporate operations.
The chopper was first seen when Neymar and his fellow Brazil national team players Richarlison, Ederson and Fernandinho arrived in it for practice ahead of the Copa America 2019. In July 2021, Neymar shared a picture of himself posing with the chopper. The aircraft reportedly cost Neymar around USD 13 million.
A general H145 is a four-tonne, twin-engine rotorcraft which can carry up to 10 passengers and two pilots in a higher-density configuration. It has a range of around 650 km and a maximum speed of 260 km/h. According to Airbus, the helicopter incurs low-maintenance costs and has a high in-service time.
Primarily used for civilian purposes, such as air ambulance roles and local law enforcement duties, in several countries, military variants of the aircraft are in the fleet of Royal Thai Army, German Air Force and Royal Air Force, among others.
Private aircraft and helicopters aside, Neymar has a number of cars to fuel his passion for speed and desire for extravagance. Though the PSG striker doesn’t seem to have as many numbers in his garages as Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar’s cars are certainly among the most sought-after and costliest machines.
The highlight in his fleet is a Ferrari 458 Italia, one of the finest automobiles to have ever been produced and one that is also owned by prominent celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Floyd Mayweather and Rihanna. The car reportedly cost Neymar somewhere above USD 200,000. Powered by a 4.5-litre V8 engine, the car has a top speed of 337 km/h. Reports suggest that the car appears to be Neymar’s favourite, as he has often been seen driving it.
Neymar also has a Maserati MC12, only 50 units of which exist in the world. ‘Stradale,’ as the car’s road-going version is known, has a top speed of over 330 km/h. Produced in the early 2000s, the car was at the time priced at around USD 750,000. Since only 50 were ever made, its resale value today is in millions.
In 2019, Sotheby’s had a 2005 model MC12 on its auction lot. Though the car went unsold, it was expected to fetch between USD 2.6 and USD 3.5 million.
Three Audis
A promotional picture shows a white Audi R8 Spyder. (Image: Courtesy of Audi)
The Sun reports that Neymar has three Audi cars — Audi RS7, Audi Q7 and Audi R8 Spyder. He has been previously seen driving a blue RS7 to the training ground when he was with Barcelona — a club that Audi sponsored until 2019.
It is not clear when Neymar bought the cars, but two of them — RS7 and R8 Spyder — are quite expensive.
The 2023 RS7 models are fitted with an 8-speed V8 twin-turbo engine which can take the car from 0 to 96 km/h in 3.2 seconds. Reports suggest that the price of the car is around USD 120,000.
The latest edition R8 Spyder costs around USD 200,000. It comes with a naturally aspirated V10 engine and can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds.
The Q7 is a seven-seater luxury SUV. The price of the 2023 model of the car is around USD 90,000.
Lykan Hypersport and Lamborghini Veneno
A promotional picture of a red Lykan Hypersport manufactured by W Motors. (Image: Courtesy of W Motors)
The Lykan Hypersport is one of the fastest cars of all time, clocking a top speed of around 355 km/h delivered by its Boxer Type, 228.6 in3, 3756 cc Flat 6 twin-turbocharged engine. Produced by UAE-based W Motors, the car is super-exclusive as only seven have ever been produced.
But the highlight of the car isn’t its incredible speed of acceleration of 0-100 km/h in 2.9 seconds; it is the fact that Lykan Hypersport has 440 diamonds lined in the LED headlights. It is also the world’s first car with a holographic mid-air display system with interactive motion control.
Neymar is believed to be one of those who own a USD 3.5 million Lykan Hypersport, a car that was featured in one of the Fast & Furious films.
The other supercar believed to be in Neymar’s garage is a Lamborghini Veneno. The high-speed car has a 6.5-litre aspirated V12 engine, which gives Veneno a top speed of 355 km/h. The limited-edition roadster was originally priced at USD 4.5 million.
Today, any Lamborghini Veneno can fetch upwards of several millions for its current owners at auction. In fact, a Lamborghini Veneno was reportedly auctioned for USD 8.3 million in 2019. It set a record for the most expensive Lamborghini ever sold at auction. In 2022, another Lamborghini Veneno was offered for sale for USD 11 million.
Neymar also had a Porsche Panamera reportedly worth between USD 400,000 and USD 550,000, but it was seized by Brazilian Internal Revenue Service in 2014 over alleged irregularities connected to its import into the country. The footballer received the car after winning a bet with his father, Neymar Santos Sr., in 2011. It is unclear if the car was returned to him.
Mansions in Brazil
Multiple media reports in December 2021 said that Neymar bought a mansion in Brazil for around USD 3.25 million. The property has seven bedrooms, a large swimming pool, a squash court, a cocktail bar, a panoramic lift between floors, and a 20-car garage.
The building has a glass façade and, according to Brazilian news website Em Off, is located in the Alphaville near São Paulo within a gated residential area.
The PSG star also owns a six-bedroom mansion near Rio de Janeiro. The mansion is equipped with ultimate luxurious facilities such as a massage room, a spa, a sauna and a heated jacuzzi. It sits on a massive 10,100-square-metre property with a tennis court, a large gym and an underground cellar which can store 3,000 bottles of wine. It is so huge that it has its own jetty and a helipad, where Neymar keeps his chopper.
Other houses
According to the 2012 Forbes report, Neymar had purchased a USD 750,000 triplex, a USD 150,000 apartment and a USD 2 million mansion in the state of São Paulo in the first two years of his senior career. He had also gifted a penthouse worth USD 1 million in Santos to Carolina Dantas, the mother of his only child.
It is not clear which of the properties he bought for his own use are still in Neymar’s possession, but he went on to add to his real estate portfolio.
He has a mansion in Beverly Hills, California, US. Measuring around 2,040 square metres, the property has seven bedrooms, a home theatre, multiple tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a wine cellar. In June 2016, Bieber was seen at Neymar’s Beverly Hills house. In a video posted by Bieber and re-shared by Neymar, the two stars can be seen playing with a football on the lawn of the property.
While in Paris, Neymar lives in a five-storey house measuring around 1,000 square metres and worth an estimated USD 7.7 million. The Sun reports that the footballer doesn’t own the property but is a tenant. The rent is around USD 16,600 per month.
The property was built in the 1950s and is around 16 km from Paris city centre. It has a large swimming pool in its basement and a garden measuring around 465 square metres. The Sun says that French acting icon Gerard Depardieu is believed to be the former owner of the property.
(Main image: Neymar Jr/@neymarjr/Twitter; Featured image: NJ/@neymarjr/Instagram)
Scott Dunn’s recent annual year-end guest survey reveals that appetite for international travel has returned among the luxury and ultra-high net worth travellers in Asia, although a notable portion remains somewhat cautious.
While 46% say they cannot wait to get on a plane and go abroad, 31% prefer to take a more measured approach to travel, remaining cautious about potential travel disruptions in the new year. On top of that, 19% also wish to venture out, but not too far from home, reflecting a somewhat measured approach.
Luxury travel guests look to experience culture, food and drink, local life and people
Many travellers are also tired of pandemic-related travel restrictions and are looking forward to their long-awaited freedom to travel. All respondents (100%) said that they will take at least one trip next year, an 87% increase from 2022 – 71% are looking to take a minimum of two trips next year, while 22% wish to travel four or more times in 2023.
An emerging trend among the luxury guest segment serviced by Scott Dunn is slow travel – the highest preference among guests would be to take a one- to a two-week vacation in a single destination, highlighting their preference to fully explore and discover a location.
The top three things that luxury travel segment guests are looking for while on holiday are cultural experiences, food and drink, and experiencing local life and people. This reflects a desire to truly connect with and discover the destinations that they are visiting, rather than visiting as a more traditional and disconnected tourist.
Discovering a new destination took the top spot as a reason to venture out in 2023, followed by ticking off bucket list destinations in second place, and rediscovering favourite places in third. In contrast, ticking off bucket list destinations only came in fifth last year, behind rediscovering favourite places, signifying that more luxury travellers are truly looking to travel out of their comfort zone and visit new, unexplored places.
