While we’re all keenly awaiting the end of travel restrictions, Four Seasons is gearing up to implement its brand new A321LR ‘private jet’ for round-the-world vacation packages starting next month. But with ticket prices to make your eyes water, is it worth the investment?
Splashing the cash in 2021?
What can you spend almost 200 grand on? A new Bentley? Four years of college education? A small house in the ‘burbs? Well, if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to part with 200K, Four Seasons has got just the ticket. And that’s what you’ll get – just one ticket for its ‘private jet experience’ holiday this year.
In fact, you’ll have change from your 200 big ones, but not much. Depending on your chosen itinerary, you could pay from $163,000 per person up to $170,000. But that’s based on double occupancy. If you prefer to travel solo, you can add at least 10% to that cost.
So what do you get for all that cash? Well, the trips do sound pretty awesome. For example, one of the most expensive itineraries departs Miami in April, and will see you holidaying for 24 days all-in. During that time, you’ll visit amazing sights like Easter Island, Bora Bora, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Pyramids of Egypt.
A slightly cheaper trip goes for 23 days in November, and takes in Kyoto, Hoi An, the Maldives, Serengeti, Marrakech, Budapest, St Petersburg, and Paris. That one will set you back $163,000 (+10% for solo travelers).
While the round-the-world experience seems pretty cool and obviously includes all the Four Seasons hotels along the way, it’s still an immense amount of cash to part with. A typical round-the-world flight ticket will cost around $3,000 – $5,000, and even with five-star hotels thrown in, you’d struggle to come close to these fares traveling independently. So it must be the ‘private jet’ that’s bumping up the cost, right?
Let’s see just how good the Four Seasons plane actually is.
An all-business A321LR
Four Seasons chose an A321LR for its luxury worldwide travel experience. While the A321LR is a pretty cool jet, this one is a world away from what we’d expect from a true private jet.
The A321 is laid out in a 2-2 arrangement, and we have to say the styling is pretty nice. The crisp, white Italian leather-covered seats give the cabin a very light and airy look.
Naturally, all the seats go fully flat for comfort on the long flights. Four Seasons has installed a sort of ottoman-seat affair at the foot of the bed, which can be used by other passengers for socializing. Four Seasons says each seat has six and a half feet of personal space.
Down at the rear, there’s a small bar area with drinks fridge and a single bar table to stand at. The airline says that the lounge area can also be used for ‘cooking classes and wellness activities.’ We’re guessing not by many passengers all at once, though.
While the Optimares designed seats look lovely and spacious, their wide comfort has eaten into the central aisle space. That could make for an awkward sideways shuffle for passengers to get to the lavs.
You can see some of the design inspiration for the jet in the video below. Four Seasons says it wanted to create a jet that ‘has no equal.’ While they’ve certainly mastered the all-business nature of this A321, there’s not that much to love about it other than the comfortable seats.
While there might be a certain segment of world wanderers who would be prepared to stump up the fare for this experience, the market is incredibly limited. In fact, as Scott Mayerowitz, executive editorial director at The Points Guy, told Bloomberg in 2019,
“I don’t think anyone could say that this is a bargain … There are many parts of this country where you could buy a multi-bedroom house for that price.”
Would you pay almost $200K to fly around the world like this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
