(Photo credit Micha Lueck)
Cash strapped Delhi residents with a wanderlust can take a fake flight for the equivalent of just $2. Indian entrepreneur Bahadur Chand Gupta picked up an old Airbus 300 (an insurance write off with one wing and half a tail) and had the pieces shipped to to Delhi. He sells tickets for flights which never take off.
99% of the Indian population have never flown in a plane, so Gupta's offer is the closest many will get. There is no lighting, the air-con runs off a generator and the view from the window is as unchanging as that from a real plane over the sea.
What you do get, though, is a safety demo, in-flight catering (courtesy of a staff of six, including Gupta's wife) and Gupta's repertoire of pilot announcements (example: "We will soon be passing through a zone of turbulence”).
It's tempting to sneer, but I'd say this is probably a great way to spend a few hours. No security lines, no bans on liquids or remote controlled cars, and the food is probably way better than you'd ever find on a real flight. And you always know you'll get to your destination on time.
(Note. The photo above is for illustration purposes only)
Book now for the flight to nowhere [The Times via Kottke]
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