While most airlines try to entice passengers with cheap flights, Etihad Airways has long gone in the opposite direction and now the Abu Dhabi-based airline has outdone itself.
Flying on its new route between Mumbai and New York City in its ridiculous luxury suite, dubbed The Residence, will run you $38,000. Wanna go back the other way? That’ll be another $38,000 too.
Of course, that doesn’t sound worth it to you. How could it? But if someone’s even entertaining the notion of dropping 40 grand on a plane ticket, his sense of value is likely different from the common man’s.
So what does a $38,000 plane ride get you? Comfort and privacy, mainly. With a bedroom, bathroom and living room, The Residence is the only three-room suite in the sky. It also comes with a private butler.
When justifying a price tag this high, you’ve got to provide more than a comfy bed and a flat screen TV. That’s why meals, which can be customized before the flight, are served on 24-carat gold plated plates. And why this bed is covered in “designer Italian linen.”
The best amenity of The Residence might the ensuite bathroom with a full show. As an Etihad butler noted to one reporter, it’s big enough for two.