Spending three weeks touring the world’s wonders and staying in four-star hotels is better by private jet – right? Well, naturally. But the Four Seasons is hoping that up to 52 passengers will pay $119,000 each for the honor on their shiny new plane. Take a look at the interior design project of this new private jumbo jet.
The Four Seasons’ jet is a reconfigured Boeing 757-200ER leased by TCS World Travel (a luxury tour operator) from TAG Aviation (which provides pilots, maintenance) and operated under the Four Seasons flag as an entrée to extravagant group excursions. And it looks downright sexy in its new shade of metallic black.
This greatest interior design project went from 233 standard-size seats to 52 lie-flat seats in a 2-by-2 configuration. Each seat stretches 6.5 feet, with ample aisle and legroom, and offers 78 inches of personal space. Overhead bins are nearly double their original size (now fitting 189 bags) but take up less headspace by tucking up into the crown of the fuselage.
A new bi-color LED lighting system creates a calm mood in shades of violet white and soft blues.
Four Seasons has been offering private jet experiences with TCS since 2012, but it’s the first private jet fully branded to the resort company, giving them much more control over service and logistics than they had chartering other people’s planes.
The idea is to apply the famous service standards of their hotels at 35,000 feet.
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There are, at minimum, 21 hotel-trained crew and staff on board each Four Seasons flight, including three pilots, two engineers, a “journey manager” (travel coordinator), a concierge, and an executive chef. A physician and a photographer also come along, when adventurous itineraries—such as diving the Maldives’ coral reefs or game watching in the Serengeti—require it.
The seats are designed by Iacobucci, a favorite Italian craftsman also found aboard Lear, Gulfstream, and Cathay Pacific jets, and the seats slide smoothly and quietly from sitting upright to lying flat at a touch of a button (clearly marked on a personal control panel). Tray tables are topped in dark shellacked wood, with a roomy surface that can easily handle a heavy laptop or formally set, three-course meal. Against the white of the plane, the wood gives the interior a kind of high-speed yacht feel.
When you take your seat, you’ll find serious stash: Bvlgari toiletry kit, cashmere blanket, Bose noise-canceling headphones, and a custom-made leather travel journal by Moleskin with matching ballpoint pen. Each guest also receives an iPad Air 2 in advance of the trip, on which you can preload music and movies as a personalized entertainment system. They’re all yours to keep.
Best part: There’s free Wi-Fi—unlike the actual hotel properties you’ll sleep at. High-speed isn’t guaranteed, but guests can visit any website and send e-mails; they just can’t stream video content while on board to ensure a good connection. (Instead, a select library of both new and contemporary films and TV shows is available to download.) Taking the tech-forward cue from newer planes, the in-flight entertainment here is as good as any.
As for the toiletries, Bvlgari is a Four Seasons favorite. And rightly so; the “au thé vert” body lotion has a very light perfume and a heavy, smooth consistency.
Unlike the epic five-star commodes you can expect on the ground, the four bathrooms on board are coach-class tiny. As bright and clean, custom-designed, and suffused with Bvlgari green tea air freshener they may be, there was no wow moment here. Also a tick in the “con” column: paper towels instead of cloth. Not a big deal in the grand scheme, sure, but it’s the small details that really send luxury over the top.
“We are obsessed with space and giving our guests as much as possible. Even the most luxurious private jet has only so much room to work with,” explained Dana Kalczak, Four Seasons’ vice president for design.
The next Around the World Tour, scheduled in August—nine stops from Seattle to New York via Asia—is already sold out. Next year, the 24-day itinerary jumps to $132,000.
See more: LUXURY YACHTS’ INTERIOR BY COSTANZA PAZZI
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