The World’s Most Expensive Flights
by Dori Saltzman /Airline tickets are at some of the highest prices the industry has seen in a while, but $66,000 for a single plane ticket? That’s the price of the world’s most expensive commercial airplane ticket, a one-way flight on Etihad Airways from New York City/JFK to Abu Dhabi. At $31,000 the next most expensive ticket is with Emirates and gets you one-way from Los Angeles to Dubai.
The findings are based on research done by Germany’s newest airline ALPEN AIR.
Rounding out the top five most expensive flights are:
- $28,000 – Korean Air, one-way from New York City/JFK to Seoul
- $22,000 – Cathay Pacific, one-way from London Heathrow to Hong Kong
- $22,000 – Virgin Atlantic, one-way from London Heathrow to Los Angeles
Of course, for these prices, flyers get more than just a seat on a plane.
That $66,000 ticket? That’s in Etihad Airways’ first class “The Residence,” a 430-square-feet suite on the upper deck of an Airbus 380. (That’s bigger than most hotel rooms, by the way.) The suite comes with a separate bedroom including a queen-sized bed, as well as a private bathroom. The ticket price also includes a chauffeur service to the airport and assistance from a butler who has been trained to work with royalty.
For $31,000, flyers get a first class seat on an Airbus 380 with Emirates that includes access to a spa bathroom with exclusive soaps and creams, as well as a fully-equipped wellness shower. Plus, the first class pod transforms into a bedroom in less than a minute.
Despite their price neither Korean Air’s $28,000 or Cathay Pacific’s $22,000 flights come with anything more than room, plush seating pods.
But Virgin Atlantic’s $22,000 first-class ticket comes with access to “The Loft” lounge. The lounge is available in Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus 350 planes and can fit eight people at a time.