Stuck at home for another week? At least a couple of billionaires have shown us how travel might develop in a post-COVID age.
Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have both managed a fleeting visit to space to publicise their efforts to turn such trips commercial, so the likes of you and I can put Jupiter on our bucket list.
Whether it’s New Shepard (Bezos) or VSS Unity (Sir Richard), anything that leaves Earth behind right now seems a good idea. And indeed, a Sydney travel agency that has the Virgin franchise for selling space travel reports lots of interest as a result of the post-flight publicity.
Gil McLachlan of McLachlan Travel Group in Manly told Explore: “True the Virgin Galactic price is, at the moment, still out of reach for most of us, [but] there are still many people who care enough to stump up the cash. Many of the people who I know that are booked are not unusually wealthy, but they are passionate.”
Virgin Galactic’s stock has surged in recent weeks in anticipation of the flight. On board were two pilots and four passengers, none of whom had to pay for the trip.
But Virgin says it has 600 reservations so far for the seats at US$250,000 each, and analysts say Virgin Galactic could make up to US$555 million by 2025.
Bezos did carry one paying passenger. The unnamed person won the seat at auction for US$28 million.
Explore more: mtgroup.com.au
