How do stars like Angelina Jolie and her brood travel the world? Do they fly commercial? Is there any chance of me sitting next to her while little Pax or Shiloh kicks the back of my seat?
—Julie
You just earned a snicker from Gary Mansour, who through several businesses arranges private travel for A-list talent.
"Only," Mansour responds, "if you're spending a quarter million and flying in a Gulfstream" will you likely run into the Jolie-Pitts at 40,000 feet.
Yes, A-listers fly commercial sometimes; Brad Pitt was escorted through security at Chicago's O'Hare airport last year before flying commercial out of there, for example. But "at that level, A-list stars are flying privately as much as possible," Mansour says. How much does it cost? Well...
Private overseas travel with Mansour's Avion jet company starts at about $100,000 and rises if you're visiting several cities before heading home. The exact thought process a celebrity goes through in spending such a dizzying amount?
Mansour tells me he just booked an A-list male client for a trip to Rome. He'll be flying out next week, in case you want to stake out the private tarmacs. The fare: more than $100,000. The difference between that and a commercial nonstop flight: about $90,000. But the A-lister didn't care.
"The client told me that if he could have found a great carrier like Air France or British Airways that could offer the kind of service and privacy he needed, he would do it," but there were no such options. "He said, 'This is better for my privacy and my girlfriend, and I don't have to deal with anything.' "
Except perhaps with the bill. In that instance the star paid for the flight out of his own pocket.
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