Etihad Airways: Luxury Travel for the Rich!

During this holiday time of year many of us are making travel plans to see our family, friends, and loved ones - although not necessarily in that order. I'm hoping and praying, of course, that my nutty employer will be making travel plans as well.

It's no big secret that the rich travel differently from the rest of us, is it? If they don't have their own jets and are forced to fly on commercial airlines, you can bet you won't see them sitting back there in coach along with the rest of us, with their legs going numb from crowded seats and crying babies all around.

Instead, they'll be up there in first class with plenty of space, peace and quiet, and seats that recline all the way into beds for overnight flights. Some airlines even have private cubicles for the rich and famous, and of course their crying babies are left at home with their nannies.

You won't see them in the airports either, huddled in the crowded waiting rooms at each gate. They have their own luxurious first-class lounges complete with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and when all the riffraff have boarded the plane they're escorted to their first class seats just moments before the plane takes off. Nice, right? Champagne and lobster will be on their dinner trays, complete with linen napkins and silverware, as opposed to plastic knives and forks back there in coach.

But now there's something quite extraordinary I want to tell you about - a whole new way for the super rich to travel. It seems that Etihad Airways from United Arab Emirates is installing private rooms on their Airbus A380 Superjumbos for the discerning traveler. Designed for only two people, it's called "The Residence" and consists of a private three-room suite.

The living room has a big flat-screen TV, a chilled-drink bar, luxurious leather furnishings and a dining table; the separate bedroom has a double bed with fine Egyptian cotton sheets; and the bathroom not only has a shower but also high-dollar toiletries and bathrobes like you might expect in any five-star hotel.

But it doesn't stop there. There's also an on-board gourmet chef available to them and a personal assistant from the Savoy Butler Academy to see after their needs - including their fancy dinner with vintage wine, hotel reservations, and a limousine to get them there.

At currents prices this private suite will cost between $43,000 to $48,000 round-trip to get you from here to there. Which is only about $24,000 per person after all, and considerably less than having your own private jet and pilot. In any case, no doubt you'll wake up refreshed with a nice shower before the plane lands.

Here's a link to "The Residence". See for yourself.

Thanks for dropping in tonight, and happy holiday travels,

Andrew

Furniture for the Rich!

Our friend Justin Dew recently sent an inquiry as to where rich people buy furniture. While I might have described the house and furnishings briefly here and there, he made me realize I've never written about this particular topic in full, and there's so much fun stuff to tell.

The thing is, a lot of busy rich people (especially the new rich) rely almost entirely upon their interior designers to do all the work and fill their homes and rooms with whatever fits their needs. This can be tricky of course, since the new rich often don't have a clue as to what they need or want, and the end result depends upon the imagination, creativity, and expertise of the designer engaged.

Depending on what kind of budget he's given, the designer might just shovel in a truck load of nice looking upper-middle-class stuff from Bloomingdale's and call it a day. Given a larger budget, however, he'll probably check out some high end furniture purveyors like Horchow or the Italian Bakokko Group, not overlooking Neiman Marcus of course. And if he's worth his salt, he'll mix in some real antiques here and there that match his overall scheme and design.

The danger is that these decorator-designed rooms, without the personal touch of the homeowner, can come across looking impersonal, stiff, and uninviting. You see it all the time, and you wouldn't want to sit down for even a minute in these picture-perfect rooms.

Now having said all that, many rich people take a huge interest in working closely with their interior decorators, both in designing and continuously adding to their home's comfort and beauty. And they do, after all, have plenty of free time to do so, right?

You'll find them browsing through antique shops throughout their travels in America and Europe, or perhaps attending an estate auction after some rich old biddy in their hometown kicks the bucket. This is always a little amusing since you can't deny these estate sales resemble a flock of scavenger birds swooping down for the pickings.

The former Missus of the house was fond of checking out the renowned furniture auctions at Christie's, where documented and historic antiques can bring in huge sums of money. Not to mention the bragging rights when someone asks, "Wherever did you find this?"

For knickknacks and ornamental fillers, she also loved to browse through distinguished shops like A La Vielle Russie on Fifth Avenue in New York, known for getting their hands on items from the Russian Imperial Court jeweler, Carl Faberge - including his world famous Faberge Eggs. And she always looked forward to visiting London and browsing through the Aspery Collection.

For the super rich, accumulating unique and interesting items for the home is a never-ending ongoing hobby. Their attics are full of furniture and ornaments they're grown tired of and their homes are constantly evolving, not unlike a museum, with new displays coming in all the time - something amazing to observe from my point of view.

Thanks for asking the question, Justin. I hope this has shed some light.

Andrew