Jumbo fit for a prince: The £240million private jet with a Turkish bath, boardroom and concert hall



Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud ordered the customised Airbus A380 three years ago

He already owns a customised 747, an Airbus 231 and a luxury yacht featured in a James Bond film

Jet will boast luxury suites as well as a prayer room with electronic mats which automatically turn towards mecca


When you have £16billion in the bank, a Cessna is simply not an option.

Instead, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud is about to take delivery of an Airbus A380, the world’s biggest private jet.



The same model is used by Singapore Airlines and Emirates and can fly 800 passengers 8,000 miles before refuelling. But the Saudi prince doesn’t need 800 seats, so he will have them removed to make room for an opulent, marble-finished Turkish bath and a parking space for his Rolls-Royce.

Flying palace: An artist's impression of what the £300million customised Superjumbo will look like and a few of the luxuries on board

The plane will even boast a dedicated prayer area, in which computer-generated mats move to point towards Mecca. The Western-educated prince, 57, is known as the Warren Buffett of the Middle East because of his reputation as a shrewd investor. He also owns 7 per cent of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The new airliner joins Prince Alwaleed’s stable of private jets, including a modified Boeing 747 and an Airbus 321. He is also the proud owner of a 280ft superyacht, 5KR, formerly owned by Donald Trump, which featured in the Bond film, Never Say Never Again.



Business class: The plane's boardroom features a table which functions as a giant touchscreen and (right) a white spiral staircase winds around the lift which travels three floors and also drops onto the tarmac to act as the prince's private entrance



The new jet, which has already been labelled the Flying Palace, will boast:

A dazzling main spiral staircase as well as a lift which will travel the plane's three floors and lower onto the tarmac to act as the Prince's private entrance

A Concert Hall featuring a grand piano, accoustic panelling and seating for an audience of ten. Big name entertainers are expected to perform.

A Hamam steam room lined with marble only two millimetres thick to keep the weight down as well as a sensory area for treatments

A magnificent Wellbeing room for guests featuring a giant screen on the floor allowing them to see what they are flying over

A full size boardroom featuring a large perspex table which doubles as a huge touchscreen



A total of five luxury suites as well as a prayer room with electronic mats which automatically turn to face mecca



Ample parking space for a Rolls Royce

Night flight: The opulent jet will boast no fewer than four luxury suites as well as a prayer room with electronic mats that automatically turn to face mecca while (right) the stunning Wellbeing room for guests will feature a giant screen on the floor allowing them to see what they are flying over



Giant of the skies: The Airbus A380 is the world's largest airliner and has been designed to carry over 600 passengers. The basic cost is £135 million but Prince Alwaleed's plane is expected to top £300million

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the region's wealthiest man

Airbus will deliver the extravagant toy to the prince in the New Year, a spokesman confirmed.



The prince is the first person to buy one of the luxury jumbos, estimated to have cost £240million.



The spokesman said: ‘This is the most up-to-date model you can get and the largest civil aircraft ever. It’s huge – half again as big as a 747.’



The Airbus will be delivered to the prince ‘green’ – a basic shell ready to be furnished to the client’s desires.



Design Q, the company working on the interior, says the A380 is ‘not only the most luxurious aircraft in existence, but also reflects the cultural values and status of its owner’.

The plane boasts the equivalent of three tennis courts’ worth of floor space, while the lowest cargo deck also has ample parking room.



A grand white spiral staircase will greet guests in the entrance hall.



On arrival a lift drops to the runway and a red carpet unfurls, with downlights to ‘give the impression of turning up at the Oscars’, according to Design Q.

The belly of the A380 has been turned into a relaxation zone, including a Turkish bath lined with marble only 2mm thick to keep the weight down.

Next door is a wellbeing room, with the floor and walls turned into a giant screen showing the ground below.



Guests can stand on a ‘magic carpet’ and watch the journey, a scented breeze blowing into the room.

There are also about 20 ‘sleepers’ – the equivalent of First Class seats – a boardroom and a concert hall.

As the largest stakeholder in News Corp outside the Murdoch Family, Prince Alalweed was interviewed on the deck of his yacht in Cannes by the BBC following the phone tapping scandal.

Looking relaxed in a pair of shorts and sunglasses he famously declared that News Corp's then chief executive Rebekah Brooks 'has to go', which many believe effectively ended Brooks's career at the company.