In the rarified realm of airline frequent-flier perks, elite status can bring cushy upgrades, airport lounge access, priority boarding and any number of concierge and customer service benefits. But on Wednesday, the Dutch airline KLM set a new goal for road warriors to aim for: free space flights.
The carrier, part of the Air France-KLM group, confirmed that it had purchased a handful of advance tickets for sub-orbital space flights that are expected to be offered as early as 2014 by Space Experience Curaçao, a space tourism company founded on the Caribbean island by two Dutch entrepreneurs. “KLM supports this idea and this project,” said Gedi Schrijver, a spokeswoman for the airline. She said the airline still had to work out exactly what the criteria would be to earn a space flight ticket — which sells for $95,000. “There are many options,” she said.
Space Experience Curaçao was founded in 2009 by two Dutchmen, Ben Droste, a former commander of the Royal Dutch Air Force, and Harry van Hulten, an air force test pilot. The company, which has backing from private equity investors and Hato International Airport in Curaçao, signed a deal last month to lease a sub-orbital space plane and a pilot from XCOR Aerospace, a company based in Mojave, California, that is developing a rocket-propelled craft called the Lynx. The Lynx has just two seats, meaning that it can carry just one passenger at a time.
According to Mr. Droste, the total flight time would be about 30 minutes, with the passenger experiencing just over four minutes of weightlessness at a maximum altitude of 200,000 feet, or 61,000 meters, above sea level. “You are sitting right up front, like a co-pilot, instead of in back,” Mr. Droste said. “It will be a very unique experience.” For now KLM is the only airline associated with the project. But Andrew Nelson, XCOR’s chief operating officer, said he expected other carriers to follow suit, either with Space Experience or with one of the dozens of other space tourism ventures in development worldwide. “It is only logical that, in the future, airlines are going to want to take advantage of services like these to enhance their frequent-flier programs,”
Mr. Nelson said. For years, space tourism companies have been promising experiences ranging from a brief trip to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere to an extended stay in a zero-gravity space hotel. In addition to Curaçao, public and private investors in places as far flung as Dubai, New Mexico and Singapore are preparing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to develop full-blown “spaceports,” complete with hotels, museums, Imax theaters and other space-themed diversions. With the first paying passengers expected to take flight in late 2011 or 2012, market researchers have estimated that as many as 14,000 tourists will be heading into space each year by 2021, generating annual revenue of more than $700 million. The leading entrepreneurs driving this recreational space race include several household names, like the British billionaire Richard Branson and Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com.
But major corporations, including European Aeronautic Defense & Space, the parent company of Airbus, are also investing in projects designed to shuttle well-heeled adventurers into space. Mr. Branson’s venture, Virgin Galactic, is by far the most advanced: Test flights on its six-passenger space plane, Enterprise, began this year. The company says nearly 370 seats have been reserved with deposits of $20,000, or 10 percent of the $200,000 ticket price.
The carrier, part of the Air France-KLM group, confirmed that it had purchased a handful of advance tickets for sub-orbital space flights that are expected to be offered as early as 2014 by Space Experience Curaçao, a space tourism company founded on the Caribbean island by two Dutch entrepreneurs. “KLM supports this idea and this project,” said Gedi Schrijver, a spokeswoman for the airline. She said the airline still had to work out exactly what the criteria would be to earn a space flight ticket — which sells for $95,000. “There are many options,” she said.
Space Experience Curaçao was founded in 2009 by two Dutchmen, Ben Droste, a former commander of the Royal Dutch Air Force, and Harry van Hulten, an air force test pilot. The company, which has backing from private equity investors and Hato International Airport in Curaçao, signed a deal last month to lease a sub-orbital space plane and a pilot from XCOR Aerospace, a company based in Mojave, California, that is developing a rocket-propelled craft called the Lynx. The Lynx has just two seats, meaning that it can carry just one passenger at a time.
According to Mr. Droste, the total flight time would be about 30 minutes, with the passenger experiencing just over four minutes of weightlessness at a maximum altitude of 200,000 feet, or 61,000 meters, above sea level. “You are sitting right up front, like a co-pilot, instead of in back,” Mr. Droste said. “It will be a very unique experience.” For now KLM is the only airline associated with the project. But Andrew Nelson, XCOR’s chief operating officer, said he expected other carriers to follow suit, either with Space Experience or with one of the dozens of other space tourism ventures in development worldwide. “It is only logical that, in the future, airlines are going to want to take advantage of services like these to enhance their frequent-flier programs,”
Mr. Nelson said. For years, space tourism companies have been promising experiences ranging from a brief trip to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere to an extended stay in a zero-gravity space hotel. In addition to Curaçao, public and private investors in places as far flung as Dubai, New Mexico and Singapore are preparing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to develop full-blown “spaceports,” complete with hotels, museums, Imax theaters and other space-themed diversions. With the first paying passengers expected to take flight in late 2011 or 2012, market researchers have estimated that as many as 14,000 tourists will be heading into space each year by 2021, generating annual revenue of more than $700 million. The leading entrepreneurs driving this recreational space race include several household names, like the British billionaire Richard Branson and Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com.
But major corporations, including European Aeronautic Defense & Space, the parent company of Airbus, are also investing in projects designed to shuttle well-heeled adventurers into space. Mr. Branson’s venture, Virgin Galactic, is by far the most advanced: Test flights on its six-passenger space plane, Enterprise, began this year. The company says nearly 370 seats have been reserved with deposits of $20,000, or 10 percent of the $200,000 ticket price.
Title: Richard Branson Sells $200,000 Tickets For Flights to Outer Space
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