Lorre White, The Guru of Luxury

Private Jets Continue Their Post-Recession Rise

According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer,  "Entrepreneurs and wealthy leisure travelers are returning to the skies and driving up demand for private jets.

 

"Flight Options, the jet service based at Cuyahoga County Airport in Richmond Heights, more than quadrupled its first quarter sales compared with a year earlier.

 

The company is selling more partial ownership shares and jet card hours, and has more planes in the air, than at any time since 2008. Flight Options' JetPASS cards, loaded with 25 hours' credit toward renting a jet, are for travelers who want occasional access to a 7- to 13-passenger jet without owning an equity share in it.

 

"Customers in the first three months of the year have used 82 percent of all available flight hours in Flight Options' fleet, up from 76 percent in the 2010 first quarter.

 

"It surprised us," said Chairman Kenneth Ricci. "It started in the middle of February and it's been continuing very strong."

 

The company is private and doesn't disclose financial details. Tuesday, though, it announced that sales of its JetPASS cards rose 46 percent in the 2011 first quarter, compared with a year earlier, while fractional jet sales soared 467 percent, year-over-year.

 

Meanwhile, Columbus based NetJets released data showing how its private jet operations benefit the local economy.  Allan Ball, an operations manager for the company, showed NetJets contributed more than $15 million in 2010 to Ohio's economy.

 

Despite the recession dip, Ball said that between 2001 and 2010, NetJets' flight hours and the number of flights made with owners on board more than doubled.

 

Across the Atlantic, London Oxford Airport increased its jet movements year on year by 31% and saw its overall business aviation movements increase 18% over the past 12 months Speaking at a pre-EBACE Show media briefing yesterday, newly appointed Managing Director Chris Orphanou said that the airport is now handling an average 20 business aircraft movements a day, equating to approximately 7,000 business aviation movements a year.  "And with some 35 business aircraft regularly 'living' at the airport, this makes Oxford Airport the fastest growing for business aviation in the UK," he said.

 

 

 

Doug Gollan

Elite Traveler

 

Big Apple Gossip: The Runway Comes To the Runway: Lagerfeld And Valentino Meet at Teterboro

The Runway Comes To the Runway: Lagerfeld And Valentino Meet at Teterboro  

 

According to The New York Post, two private jets from Europe landed within minutes of each other.  As the limos and vans pulled up with "an array of luxury suitcases...a beautiful entourage and quite a few dogs," each plane's lead passenger got a surprise.  Fashion icons Valentino and Karl Lagerfeld realized they had just been back to back on the runway, Teterboro's private jet airport runway that is.

 

 

 

Doug Gollan

Elite Traveler

Bid for World's Oldest Champagne

Two bottles of what is believed to be the world’s oldest champagne will be put up for a bidding war this summer. They were two out of 145 bottles of intact, corked champagne discovered by divers in an early 19th century shipwreck in the summer of 2010. The provincial government of the Finnish Åland Islands, which owns the artefacts recovered from the shipwreck, will oversee the auction.

According to experts, the champagne was produced in the early part of the 1800's, with their contents all hailing from the Veuve Clicquot, Juglar and Heidsieck champagne houses. Organized by the American auction house Acker Merrall & Condit, there will be one bottle of Veuve Cliquot and one of Juglar.

"The final price can only be guessed at, but it will probably reach a record level," leading champagne expert Richard Juhlin speculates.

"The money made over time from sales of the champagne will be used for the public good, for example for improving the state of the surrounding Baltic Sea,"  adds Rainer Juslin of the Åland provincial government.

via [YLE]

Louis Vuitton’s women’s prefall collection was very Art Deco.

Held at the airy, sunlit Museum of Contemporary Art, Louis Vuitton’s press presentation of its women’s prefall collection was a sumptuous homage to the eclectic industrial aesthetic of the Art Deco era. The intimate white interior of the museum was adorned with sculptural black arums, vintage Vuitton luggage cases and transformed into an open gallery where guests were invited to explore and touch the new pieces on display.

Coats featured prominently in the collection, in luxurious burgundy, striped tweed and androgynous denim-blue that evoked the sexy, utilitarian appeal of workers’ overalls. Dresses, on the other hand, were glamorous affairs, sequined, high-waisted and finished with a delicate petal trim. Silk jersey wrap dresses came in muted Cubist prints that referenced Picasso and Dunand.

Accessories, always the highlight of any Vuitton collection, were textually interesting and on-trend, with jeweled embellishments, color blocking and contrast-trimming of grained leather and monogram canvas. A key piece was the new Monogram Speedy Boudouliere, a functional update of a perennial favorite.

Jewelry, hats and earrings rounded off the collection, heavily inspired by the twenties and playfully retro in spirit, with many presented in colorful resin, stingray and ostrich feathers.

Louisvuitton.com

Aston Martin One-77 luxury car, at US$1.7 million a pop and limited to only 77 units

Best toy for the deep-pocketed dandy? German publisher teNeues’ vote goes to the mind-blowing Aston Martin One-77 luxury car, which graces the cover of its new volume, Luxury Toys for Men. At US$1.7 million a pop and limited to only 77 units, the Aston Martin One-77 is clearly a super-car to look out for.

Other luxury automobiles listed in the super-sized, 220-page volume include the Audi R8 GT, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Jaguar XKR Special Edition, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S Awards Edition and the Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible.

The handsomely illustrated book contains 138 giant full-color photographs and text in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. A sampling of other lavish playthings included on the list: (Richard Branson's) Necker Island, Ecosse Titanium Series RR motorcycle, SportRiva 56′ and Aguti 20M yachts, Challenger 850 and Citation CJ4 jets, and Hublot $1 Million Black Caviar Bang and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix watches—baubles to amuse your inner boy for a lifetime and more.

Via [AutoGuide]

teNeus

Italian-based shipyard CRN has launched two leisure superyachts in a week

, the M/Y CRN Navetta 43 metres and M/Y CRN 130 60 metres.

Christened ‘Lady Trudy’, the M/Y CRN Navetta 43 (above) is the seventh hull of the Navette 43 line with a capacity of 10 passengers and nine crew members. With its 43-metre long and 8.6-metre wide dimensions, the mega yacht boasts a máximum speed of 15.5 knots and a cruising speed of 13 knots, pushed by two CATERPILLAR C32-C engines.

Designed by Zuccon International Project Studio, the yacht is equipped with four decks, a helicopter landing pad and a master suite which opens out to a spacious balcony. The interior is finely furnished with a touch of the romantic Hamptons style in mind. An integrated entertainment system – the ‘myOlos’ – is also installed so that the desired audio volume, lighting and temperature can be achieved with the click of a button, allowing you to kick back and enjoy the seaview in utmost comfort.  

Commissioned by a European ship owner, an elongated streamlined profile and cream-coloured hull strongly characterizes the M/Y CRN 130 60 (below). Equipped with two CATERPILLAR 3512B-Chp 1’455 kW@1835 rpm engines, the yacht has a maximum speed of 15 knots and a cruising speed of 14 knots. While the spacious exterior and imposing form bear the signature of Zuccon International Project Studio, the interior, designed by Alexandre and Cristina Negoes, seamlessly fuses minimal style with sophisticated art deco. The vessel can accommodate 12 guests and 14 crew members.

 

Belvedere Vodka’s fifth year at the upcoming Festival de Cannes 2011

To celebrate Belvedere Vodka’s fifth year at the upcoming Festival de Cannes 2011, the premium luxury vodka maker has released a special edition bottle. Conceptualized by Italian label Cor Sine Labe Doli, the quirky bottle is adorned with a snazzy ceramic bow, overlain in platinum and silver sequins and propped up on a plush, complementary cushion. Only 25 such bottles will be available in France for €550 a pop—a perfect accessory for the glamorous guests at the Cannes Festival, scheduled for May 11 to 22 this year.

Belvederevodka.com

Cartier & British Royalty: A Princely Weekend

As Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding weekend approaches, Cartier, ‘the jeweler of kings, king of jewelers’, has reaffirmed the longstanding ties between the jeweler and the Royal Court of the United Kingdom, which delivered its first royal warrant of appointment to Cartier in 1904.

Both parties remained faithful to this bond throughout the century that followed: Cartier created 27 tiaras for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, and also produced the “Edelweiss” brooch in 1952, which was presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth II to mark her coronation. Most poignantly, after Princess Diana’s death in 1997, Prince William chose her 18K yellow gold Cartier Tank Francaise watch to remember his mother by, an heirloom which she used to teach him to tell time.

Since 1985, the fine jeweler has also been a committed and exclusive partner of the venerable polo tournament held each year in Windsor in the presence of members of the Royal Family.

Cartier.com

Tee Off on a Floating Golf Course in the Maldives

Golf enthusiasts looking for a little sun and sea on the side will be in for a treat when the world's first floating course opens in the Maldives.

Located five minutes from the Maldives airport, the 18-hole golf course will include luxe accommodation overlooking the green fairways and surrounding beaches. Underwater glass tunnels will serve as linkages between the holes and various facilities, while allowing golfers a fish-eye’s view of the island nation’s glittering reefs. The artificial floating islands will also incorporate cutting-edge green technologies such as water cooling, water desalination and the use of floating solar blanket fields.

Developed by Dutch Docklands and designed through a collaboration between golf course developer Troon Golf and Waterstudio.NL, the zero-footprint solar-powered golf course will be one of the first floating developments of its kind, and is expected to bring in a wave of new tourists.

Via [Luxurylaunches]

World’s Best Restaurant 20'11

Danish restaurant Noma has been named S. Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurant 2011 in its list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. Widely considered to be the ‘Oscars’ of the culinary world, René Redzepi's restaurant topped the voting in this year’s annual awards for the second consecutive year, reflecting the continued excitement around its unique treatment of local and regional ingredients.

Commenting on Noma’s win, William Drew, editor of Restaurant magazine, said: “We heartily congratulate René Redzepi for the difficult task of maintaining his position as the number one restaurant on our list, which underscores his commitment to redefining Nordic cuisine.”

One of the most coveted awards, the Chefs’ Choice award, was given to Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana fame. Voted for by his peers, Massimo Bottura has gained an international reputation for his deft flair in avant-garde Italian cuisine.

Asian restaurants were also well represented this year, with Japanese restaurant Les Creations De Narisawa, number 12 on the list, claiming the Best in Asia award for the third consecutive year. Its unorthodox French cuisine has been heralded for the inventive use of organic soil and charcoal.

Hong Kong made her debut on the list at number 37, with the Mandarin Oriental-based Amber Restaurant. This French-influenced restaurant is fronted by chef Dutchman Richard Ekkebus. Other Hong Kong restaurants making the extended list include Bo Innovation and Caprice, at 63 and 77 respectively.

For the full list of winners, click here.