Flying With Dollars

      Tampines - When you first learned that a person could own their own ISLAND you were impressed.  The private PLANES of the rich and famous are just as impressive and important.  One wonders how they would get to their exclusive beach oasis's without there private jets, for speed and timeliness.  The 747, the kind of plane that fits the swinging go-go days of martini-drinking travelers lingering around a bar, was introduced for commercial service in 1970.  With a spiral staircase, to get to the "flying penthouse," the 747 reminds us of images of a luxurious cruise ship.  Singapore Airlines was the first company to use the 747. 
     If you like speed and comfort the Airbus A380 is the leading European made passenger airplane in the world.  The Airbus A380 maintains glamour in flying, like the 747.  In 2008 the Airbus A380 was introduced.  Singapore Airlines was the first company to use the Airbus A380. 
     Airbus and Boeing offer a wide variety of customization options to give customers exactly what they want.  Prices vary, with a new 747 series-eight costing approximately $280 million and an Airbus A380 costing approximately $300 million.  Air Force One is, of course, on the list.  Among the many features that Air Force One has is a lift elevator that descends from the 747 to the ground, to speed baggage loading.  More than one Sultan, King, or Prince owns a pre-owned or new Boeing-747 for $100 million and up. One prince has already sold his $500 million dollar customized Airbus A380 to another un-named billionaire, before the world's most expensive passenger plane even took flight.  The billionaire who purchased the original prince's plane was desperate to skip the waiting list for the world's largest private jet.  For one-half-of a billion dollars one gets such amenities as a marble-finish Turkish bath, a boardroom, and a concert hall.  Among other customized items are:  a loading ramp that lowers from the rear of the Airbus A380, a dedicated prayer area (in which computer-generated mats move to point toward Mecca), lift-shuttles that go between the three stories of the plane, a self-loading baggage system (like air force one's) that can lower to the ground to serve as a private entrance, a "floating" grand staircase, a giant built-in floor viewing system that shows the ground being flown over, a concert hall that can generate life-like holograms, and a steam-room lined with 2mm thick marble (big enough for four to sit). 
     The ultra-rich do not always get their way.  In 2008 the interior designer of one prince's $500 million dollar Airbus A380 wanted to include a whirlpool tub .  The interior designer assured Airbus the whirlpool tub would come with a rapid drainage system that can empty standing water in seconds to a tank in the cargo hold.  Airbus refused to 'include a swimming pool on board.'  An Airbus executive, says "You can forget about the swimming pool"..."can't happen and won't happen.  See also,   www.time.com/money.