Music is blaring at night-club volume and four or five people are dancing. At a table in a corner, a group huddles over shots of tequila, while elsewhere people pick at platters of sushi in front of a 55-inch flatscreen TV. In the primary bedroom, a couple of women are sharing their secrets. Someone is smoking in the bathroom. House party? No. We’re in the cabin of an Airbus ACJ TwentyTwo jet and we’re currently somewhere in the sky above Oman. This is the launch party of the hotel group FIVE’s new private jet: the 9H-FIVE, dubbed Fly FIVE, and the first private jet of its kind.
FIVE is a Dubai hospitality group that has made a name for itself by putting the music and party vibe forefront in its luxury hotels. At the brand’s flagship hotel FIVE Palm Jumeirah, top international DJs spin every weekend into a mini festival. And according to CEO Aloki Batra, they have the largest American audience in Dubai, with eight percent of their guests coming from the US.
“We wanted to bring this party atmosphere to the sky,” he says. “This is the plane to hire for a one-of-a-kind experience.”
When you think of private jets, you probably conjure a corporate palette of beige and gold, with leather seats in a table configuration designed for business travelers. The cabin of this Airbus jet, however, has been completely customized by Comlux Completion, part of Swiss-owned aviation group Comlux, which is known for its modern interior designs for private jets. The 785 square feet of floor space is divided into a business lounge, dining area, meeting/cinema room, and primary bedroom with a king-sized bed and ensuite shower room, with areas separated by double partition doors for complete privacy when necessary.
The upholstery is a neutral gray to pick up the shades of the LED lighting designed to create “moods.” Party mood is purple and pink, while the family mood is green. The jet can accommodate 16 passengers in a flexible seating arrangement that includes nine sleeping positions. The hold has capacity for 60 bags, or 4,409 pounds of luggage. Among the many bells and whistles is high-speed Wi-Fi up to 50mbps, capable of Zoom conferencing and Netflix streaming, and individual iPad Pros that operate electrochromic window shades (which turn the glass on the windows from clear to opaque). Guests receive satin pajamas in a print made up of FIVE’s purple triangle logo, along with Molton Brown bath products and, of course, free-flowing Champagne.
In-flight perks aside, it’s worth noting that luxurious, private aviation is responsible for a significant carbon footprint. In fact, a passenger on a private jet emits 10 to 20 times as much carbon as a flier on a commercial airline, according to a recent study from environmental advocacy group Transport and Environment. To help reduce the jet’s impact, FIVE has offset 600 flight hours a year with contributions to reforestation and preservation efforts in Borneo’s Tanjung Puting National Park.