Countdown Begins for Budget Space Tourism Lift off on Skyscanner Site
Flight comparison company Skyscanner.com today launches cheap flights into space.
(PRWEB) April 2, 2010 -- While excitement is building about the increasingly imminent prospect of space
tourism following Virgin Galactic’s successful test flights in March, the prohibitive $200,000 price tag makes this
a final frontier too far for many would be astronauts, so today Skyscanner announces the launch of cheap flights
to space.
“Virgin Galactic is doing a brilliant job of creating excitement and raising awareness that space tourism is a real
possibility, but this is not a one-rocket space race by any means and space travel doesn’t have to cost the Earth,”
said Skyscanner co-founder Barry Smith. “The ‘no frills’ model has transformed air travel over the last decade, so
it’s no surprise a low-cost contender has emerged to make this market more accessible to all.”
Low cost space travel venture Copenhagen Suborbitals – based in Denmark – is taking a no-frills approach in
order to bring the cost of space travel back down to Earth. Prices per trip have not been finalized but are
anticipated to substantially undercut the Virgin Galactic fare and half price discounts may be offered for one way
tickets. There will be no in-flight service – partly because the spacecraft can actually only accommodate one
person – no baggage allowance and no seating – passengers will have to stand throughout the duration of the
space flight, although ‘buttock and armpit support’ will be available.
“We’d like to call this company the Ryanair of space travel but we can’t – you don’t have to pay extra for
check-in baggage. In fact you can’t take any baggage at all,” said Barry Smith.
He concludes: “It’s one small click for the user, but one giant leap for us as a company, opening up opportunities
for our business to boldly go into some exciting new market niches. It’s even possible we may see some interest
from forlorn former Concorde passengers who miss the view