Yahoo Autos Airlander’s Blimp vs. Space Perspective’s Balloon: Which Makes for a Better Trip?
Exclusive air travel isn’t all private jets and helicopters anymore. In the coming years, dirigibles will make a major comeback. A massive blimp dubbed Airlander 10 will fly adventurous passengers on a frigid trip from Norway to the North Pole come 2025, and Space Perspective expects to send tourists into Earth’s stratosphere in 2024 via a balloon. Of course, the big questions is: Are they just full of hot air?
I’M PAYING FOR WHAT? More from Robb Report
$79,000 for a two-person cabin for a 38-hour trip. (For comparison: A superyacht trip to the North Pole with Ariodante Travel runs at just $23,450 per person for a weeklong jaunt.) | I’M PAYING FOR WHAT? $125,000 per seat for a six-hour journey. (It’s one of the less costly space voyages; Virgin Galactic asks $450,000 a head.) |
TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS It took a nosedive and crashed during a test flight in 2016 and in another trial run the following year in Bedfordshire. (The mooring line snagged on some power cables. Whoops.)  Lee Cordell | TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS The balloon completed a passenger-less flight above Florida in 2021. It uses hydrogen to get airborne, though, which, while touted as the fuel of the future, hasn’t always been an unqualified success.  Murray Becker |
AS BIG AS HOW MANY PARTY BALLOONS $2.6 Million | AS BIG AS HOW MANY PARTY BALLOONS $36 Million |
AKA The Flying Bum. The initial design has been altered, so the balloon now looks less like an airborne rump. | AKA The aircraft itself is called Spaceship Neptune, as in the Roman god of the sea and the far-flung planet. You’ll end up closer to the former than the latter, however, as the balloon splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean.  Adobe Stock |
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OR SPACIOUS ODYSSEY? It’s roomy. The main cabin has 2,100 square feet of space, plus en-suite bedrooms.  Gareth Fuller/AP | CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OR SPACIOUS ODYSSEY? It’s cozy. So much so that the company will help bring groups of strangers together to get acquainted prior to departure. No word yet on what icebreakers they’ll use.  Associated Press |
SUPERLATIVE Longest aircraft in the world. | SUPERLATIVE Most bulbous balloon to reach the stratosphere |
OUTSIDE, ITS A CRISP?… 32°F—in summer. You can always huddle with some polar bears for warmth, if they’ll have you. (Spoiler alert: Only for lunch.) | OUTSIDE, ITS A CRISP?… -60°F. This isn’t Interstellar; you won’t want to go outside. |
CHEESIEST LINE ON THE COMPANY WEBSITE A promo video incessantly challenges viewers to “rethink” abstract concepts such as “the unreachable,” “persistence” and “the capability.” | CHEESIEST LINE ON THE COMPANY WEBSITE The homepage touts a journey where couples “might well get hitched,” ushering in a “whole new dimension on nuptials.” So long as you don’t mind that your wedding party is made up of a ton of strangers. |
INVESTORS INCLUDE Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer of heavy-metal band Iron Maiden and a pilot. The group has yet another Legacy of the Beast Tour kicking off this year, so don’t expect an onboard performance.  Dave Nelson/AP | INVESTORS INCLUDE Tony Robbins, an American motivational speaker and philanthropist. Time to awaken the giant space adventurer within, clearly.  Brian Ach/AP |
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