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sky is the limit: A booking counter of DTDS Travel and Tour Planner at Sonari airport. (Bhola Prasad)
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A party in the sky may sound like a flight of fancy for some, but come
Valentine’s Day, Jamshedpur will be able to take off for some serious revelry in the air, for a price.
So whether one is celebrating an engagement, a wedding anniversary or a child’s birthday, for Rs 40,000 the venue can be a single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan that will fly out 10 persons (pilot included) from the steel city for a 45-minute ride in the sky. A cake and a sumptuous lunch for all guests is part of the package, and for the kids on board, a chance to sit in the cockpit completes the icing on the cake.
The service, aptly named Celebration Flight, is the brainchild of Bangalore-based DTDS Travel and Tour Planner Limited, which is already operating two weekly flights between Jamshedpur and Calcutta in alliance with Bangalore-based Spirit Air.
“We have had queries from customers in the steel city about such a concept and we would be launching it in Jamshedpur on February 14. The flight duration and fare can be altered depending on the response we get,” a senior official of DTDS Tour and Travel Planner based in Calcutta said.
Couples can avail the flight to celebrate a wedding anniversary, engagement or any other special occasion along with their friends and family (not more than eight members in all). Apart from the cake and lunch, the aircraft can be decorated with balloons and flowers and the special moments allowed to be captured on camera and camcorders, at an added cost.
The flight promises to be stuff dreams are made of, especially for children.
If the occasion is a birthday party on the Celebration Flight, the birthday boy or girl can “play” pilot — with the active co-operation of the real one of course — while the plane is in the air.
“A family can celebrate a child’s birthday along with friends, cut a cake and get it recorded or photographed. The birthday boy or girl will get to sit next to the captain and feel the thrill of approaching the airport after the 45-minute flight and making the touch-down,” an official said.
And there is more. At the end of the party, the birthday boy or girl will be awarded a certificate of a performed flight (flight logbook) signed by the captain.
“We have already started a similar service in Calcutta and we feel that a market certainly exists in Jamshedpur and that is why we are here. We have received several queries and we hope that once the service starts, it would have a good response. The exact details would be chalked out once the service commences depending on market response,” said Shyamal Chakraborty, manager sales, DTDS Travel and Tour Planner in Calcutta.
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