‘I’ve never been so unhappy getting off a plane’: The Mail flies to Oregon on a Boeing 757 converted into a PRIVATE JET with lie-flat seats… for £140,000 holidays around the world

Another blini for your caviar, ma’am?’ I am asked as we sail above the snow-capped mountains of Iceland and I take a seat on my wide throne, finished in Italian cream leather and walnut.

Around me, my fellow guests, all smartly dressed and brimming with excitement, sip perfectly chilled Dom Perignon champagne vintage 2013 (which costs more than £200 a bottle) as they get to know each other.

We’re aboard Abercrombie & Kent’s private jet, flying in extreme style from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Portland, Oregon.

The company takes small groups of wealthy travelers around the world on trips costing up to £156,605 ($200,000) for up to 26 days.

These types of private jet tours have become increasingly popular since the pandemic and are now offered by several luxury travel companies, including hotel groups Aman and Four Seasons. I taste it for one trip.

The Abercrombie & Kent aircraft (pictured) is a reconfigured and modified Boeing 757

As they traverse the world, guests are treated to three-course meals prepared by private chefs, reclining chairs, soft slippers and duvets, Briggs & Riley toiletries packed with L’Occitane goodies, iPads stocked with newly released films, a traveling ‘bell boy’ responsible for the luggage and a photographer ready to capture every moment. There’s even a doctor on board for the duration of the trip, for ultimate peace of mind.

The Abercrombie & Kent aircraft is a reconfigured and customized Boeing 757. Such aircraft usually carry around 200 passengers. But this one only has 48 handmade, business class-style seats, which massage the occupant in different positions and lie flat at the click of a button.

I’m assigned 9A, a window seat with absolutely everything I need within easy reach: almost as soon as I notice my phone’s battery is running low, I find a charger in a side pocket; when the cabin chatter increases as I go to sleep, I find a pair of Bose noise-canceling headphones above my head; The moment I get hungry or need a refill, a cabin crew member comes over and places something on the wide walnut table in front of me.

On Abercrombie & Kent’s Wildlife Safari tour, passengers travel to eight countries, stopping to spot snow monkeys in Japan, bears in Malaysia, Bengal tigers in India, lemurs in Madagascar and gorillas in Uganda – all while living in luxury are packaged.

Planes like this normally carry around 200 passengers, but this plane only has 48 business class-style seats, Harriet reveals. She describes her chair as an ‘Italian cream leather and walnut finished throne’

The ratio of guests to cabin crew is 1:7 and the staff wear navy blue skirt suits, corsages and broad smiles.

During the flight, conversations flow as quickly as the bubbles. “On these trips, we become like one big family,” said Ann Epting, A&K’s senior vice president of private jet travel. It may sound cheesy, but it’s true.

As we cross Canada’s deep blue lakes, white linen cloths are laid on our tables and we are treated to chicken Caesar salads, followed by honey-lime glazed Arctic char with lobster sauce and a caramel-chocolate mousse pudding with crumbled brownies.

The chairs ‘massage their occupant in different ways and lie flat at the click of a button’

Harriet is impressed with the food on board and says she has ‘had worse meals in Michelin star restaurants’

As well as top dishes, Harriet explains, there is an extensive and unlimited drinks menu including negronis and espresso martinis, campari, martini, cognac and bottles of red and white wine that would cost more than £100 at your local restaurant.

The guest to cabin crew ratio is 1:7 and ‘staff wear navy blue skirt suits, corsages and big smiles’

The Briggs & Riley toiletry bag with L’Occitane goodies that every passenger receives

I’ve had worse meals at Michelin star restaurants and can’t quite believe what I’m tasting at 35,000 feet.

The extensive and unlimited drinks menu includes negronis and espresso martinis, campari, martini, cognac and bottles of red and white wine that would cost over £100 at your local restaurant.

The eight hours fly by in a ridiculously luxurious haze, and before we know it the plane lands in Portland. I have never been so unhappy getting off a plane.

Once we disembark, the plane is cleaned and replenished, ready for the lucky guests who will continue on a 25-day Wildlife Safari tour, visiting eight countries and making stops to spot snow monkeys in Japan, bears in Malaysia, Bengal tigers in India, lemurs in Madagascar and gorillas in Uganda – all while wrapped in luxury.

They will be in the air for a total of 55 hours. A comparable route via commercial flights would take 117 hours, plus 77 additional stops. A trip on any other tour between Cebu in the Philippines and Sandakan in Malaysia usually takes 19 hours plus two stops; A&K’s private jet does it in 40 minutes.

Passengers never have to queue and are guided through private terminals with immigration cards pre-filled by staff.

Hotel stops, meanwhile, are made at the world’s top brands, including The Peninsular, Shangri-La and Ritz-Carlton.

Passengers on the Abercrombie & Kent private jet tour never have to wait in line and are taken through private terminals with immigration cards pre-filled by staff

If the plane lands somewhere outside the luxury hotel aisle, A&K books a three- or four-star hotel and converts it to a five-star hotel. They train staff (or bring in their own), replace furniture, bedding and mattresses, paint walls and add artwork.

For this all-inclusive odyssey, you’ll be asked to pay £139,670 pp ($176,000). Demand is high and almost 40 percent of customers return for their second, third or even ninth trip.

When guests spend what some people pay for a house, expectations are obviously very high. Does the staff ever say ‘no’ to guests? “No,” comes Ann’s quick response, a wry smile spreading across her face. “Honestly, we do everything we can to meet our guests’ needs, and ‘no’ isn’t really in our vocabulary. There was one time a couple asked for eight feather pillows in every hotel room, so we made sure that happened.”

Then there was the woman who brought nine suitcases and presented seven pages of dietary requirements; the veterinarian who wanted to eat a pig’s head in the remote Philippines; the man who proposed after being airlifted to Everest base camp, then asked if the staff would arrange his wedding a few days later – which of course they did in Sicily.

So, is it worth it? If you have the money, absolutely. But it is also dangerous. Fly around the world like this and you might never want to take a normal commercial flight again.