I f you want to to fly as a passenger in The Residence aboard Etihad Airways between London and Sydney via Abu Dhabi, it will cost you approximately $80,000.00, according to this article by Ben Schlappig of the One Mile at a Time weblog.
Back on May 4, 2014, I first reported on The Residence, which includes three “rooms”; a butler; a chef at your service who can prepare your favorite meal if you do not prefer the available gourmet offerings; and a VIP travel concierge service to take care of you from the moment of reservation right through until the end of their stay with Etihad Airways — from a luxury chauffeur to private check-in and lounge.
Regardless, I thought that the $42,000.00 airfare between London and Abu Dhabi was prohibitively expensive and rather ostentatious:
$42,000.00?!? I could not even think of paying half of that for the experience — but then again, I am certainly not the target customer for this product. I would rather spend that money on a luxury experience on the ground — which would last longer than any flight…
…not that I would not want to experience the services which Etihad Airways is offering — but that is simply not worth it to me, in my opinion. I can think of many, many other ways to spend $42,000.00 — like perhaps adding more luxury products to my home which I can enjoy for years, for example.
Because the total duration of the flights between London and Sydney via Abu Dhabi is approximately 23 hours and 25 minutes, you would basically be paying $80,000.00 for 48 hours. That is $1,666.67 per hour; or $27.78 per minute — if my math is correct. Split those numbers in half if you invite a guest to travel with you in The Residence.
Has that figure boggled your mind yet? No? Consider this: although the $80,000.00 could be for two people, let us think for a moment about what that money could purchase…
- A split-level detached home in Marietta, Georgia with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, city water and sewer, a garage for two cars, central air conditioning — all only approximately 30 minutes from Atlanta and 45 minutes from the airport — and $5,000.00 left over if you pay the asking price without any negotiation
- Two loaded 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class cars — one for you and one for your significant other
- 774 shares of Apple stock at $103.30 per share
- Tuition, room, board and expenses for all four years towards an undergraduate degree at a state college, according to this article by Steve Cohen — no relation to me — of The New York Times
…and if I were so wealthy that I could afford to spend $80,000.00 just for airfare for one trip, I would probably do one of two things:
- Travel on private jet aircraft; or better yet…
- Travel in typical international premium class and all expenses associated with it — including lodging, food and other incidentals
…and in both cases, perhaps donate some of the money which is left over to reputable charities and causes to help make the world a better place to live.
There are very few people on this planet right now who would not blink at plunking down $80,000.00 for a round-trip flight — regardless of how much luxury they would receive in return. As I said in the past, I am also a person who eventually feels uncomfortable with people doting on me for service, as I usually prefer to do things myself. Again — that is just me…
…but I am also not going to lie: if I had the opportunity to try out The Residence, I would certainly do it once — but not for $80,000.00 or for $42,000.00 or even for $10,000.00, as I have other ways to spend my money which would be far more beneficial to me in the long run.
In other words, don’t be looking for me as a passenger in The Residence anytime soon — if ever…
