Twinjet Aircraft and Goodwood Travel have completed their first Flights of Fantasy trip. Twenty vip passengers boarded Twinjet’s A319CJ at London Biggin Hill on October 13 before heading East to view sights such as the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the ancient city of Petra.

The second Flight of Fantasy followed on October 20 with twenty five vip passengers.

In the tradition of the late 1920’s Imperial Airways, Goodwood Travel's Flights of Fantasy air cruises programme is notable in that both the aircraft and the crew stay with the passengers for the duration of their seven-day trip. Passengers were chauffeur-driven to the executive terminal at Biggin Hill for a Champagne reception, where they were met by Jan Knott and Sally Rasmussen of Goodwood Travel who travelled with the passengers as their experienced guides and Twinjet's chief pilot, captain Bob Ruskell.

During each sector flight, cabin services manager, Georg Guy and his cabin crew team served passengers a selection of canapés and a five course lunch, with hand selected wines and champagnes.

Commented one passenger: “This really is the superlative way to travel.”

At each destination, guests sojourned in the hotels of the Oberoi Mena House Palace Hotel in Cairo, the Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel in Agra and the Mövenpick Hotel in Petra.

As part of the luxury trip, guests were treated to a Nile cruise gala dinner in Cairo, and in Agra guests visited Fatehpur Sikri, the Red Fort and saw the Taj Mahal at sunrise and sunset. The journey culminated in a black tie farewell gala dinner under the stars in Petra.

Twinjet and Goodwood Travel have now begun looking ahead to Flights of Fantasy in 2002. Current plans include a tour in May to the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, a visit to Iceland and Greenland for the Midnight Sun, and a ‘Roof of the World’ itinerary that will include India, Tibet, China and Russia.

Captain Bob Ruskell, who commanded the first Flight of Fantasy, commented: “Operating with Goodwood Travel was both a functional success as well as a pleasure and we look forward to working with them hand in hand in the future”.

In its first two years of operation, Twinjet has flown over 90 individual charters and has covered 393,841 nautical miles.

The company says bookings have already been placed for January and February 2002. Thus far its client base has included the United Nations and governments of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, China and Venezuela. Commercial customers include leading financial institutions, entertainment celebrities and major industrial companies.