Fasten your seatbelts for a flight to Paris, and never leave the ground.
That¡¯s exactly what 12 passengers did at First Airlines in central Tokyo last week, relaxing in first- and business-class seats, served with four-course dinners, before immersing themselves in a 360-degree virtual reality (VR) tour of the City of Lights.
¡°A real trip is a hassle to prepare for, and expensive, and takes time,¡± said Takashi Sakano, 39, who was on his first VR trip.
¡°So I think it is good that we can enjoy all this hassle-free,¡± he continued, adding that he wants to ¡°travel¡± to Rome next time.
At ?6,600 ($62) ¡ª a fraction of the cost of an actual trip overseas ¡ª it¡¯s easy to see why First Airline¡¯s two-hour ¡°flights¡± to Paris, Rome, Hawaii and New York have been fully booked since the company opened in 2016.
¡°We have lots of elderly customers, who want to go overseas but are not able to easily given their physical limitations,¡± said Hiroaki Abe, manager of First Airlines.
Abe noted that domestic flights around Japan will be added soon, with meals highlighting each region¡¯s cuisine.
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