Monday, October 16 2006
"The Captain has now turned on the smoking sign" may be among the announcements heard on Smoker's
International Airways (a/k/a Smintair) if German entrepreneur, Alexander Schoppmann, has his way.
The 55-year-old former stockbroker has developed a business plan for the airline which will offer Cuban cigars, caviar, and designer-clad flight attendants on flights between Düsseldorf, Germany and Tokyo. Yes, on Smintair the entire plane is the smoking section.
Saying, "it's all about service," Schoppmann, himself a 30 cigarette per day smoker, wants to help his passengers avoid long hours confined without a cigarette break during a long flights.
"I've been an airline passenger for 50 years," said Schoppmann, "It made me very angry that the gap between service and price became so big with regular airlines. Especially in the first class and business class service."
With a fleet consisting of three leased Boeing 747s, Smintair plans to start flights in March of 2007. Schoppmann wants to bring back "the luxury of the old days" by using only 138 business and first-class seats on a plane with enough space to accommodate over 400 passengers.
Internet and telephone access, including DVDs and satellite TV, will be part of the flight plan, including flight attendants who will don uniforms created by the world's top designers. (I wonder if he'll even bring back the term "stewardess" from the old days, too.) Moreover, because the airline will pay the added cost of a system to add outside air to the cabin air conditioning, passengers will find the cabin air on Smintair "much more refreshing."
Schoppmann says he has investors ready to put up $81 million, but before Smintair can start selling tickets, he has to raise $50 million to get a license from the German government, as well as sponsors who want to sell luxury goods in-flight. The bottom line for the customer will be "a luxurious experience above the clouds."
As far as ticket prices go, they'll be on par with other European long distance carriers such as Lufthansa and British Airways.
"It will be interesting to see whether enough people will opt for Smintair over a carrier like Lufthansa, which has more frequent flights, just because they like to smoke," said Schoppmann.
What about second- hand smoke?
"Second-hand smoke doesn't exist," Schoppmann said. "At the most there is something that smells, but perfumes smell, as well."
~ G.K.
