Gizmodo
Starting October 1, if you're flying first class from Dubai to New York on an Emirates Air A380, you'll have the option of grabbing a hot shower midflight. It'll cost you $18,000, but some showers are worth it, am I right? "No!" say those party poopers in the environmental lobby.
You see, in order to offer every first-class passenger a shower, the airline will have to add one metric tonne of water to its payload, dragging a carbon cost of around 50,000 lbs. per trip.
All part of the luxury experience, right? No one has seen photos of the upcoming A380 first-class cabin, but it is allegedly something on par with the "seven star" Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, and that it makes Singapore Airlines' front end—with double beds and dining "environments"—look like a dog's backend.
Sure, an in-air shower might negatively impact the earth in catastrophic and irreversible ways, but think about it this way: the only people who will make use of it come from oil wealth, so they probably wouldn't give a shit to begin with! [Times UK via Luxurylaunches]
Comments
$18000 for a bath??? You better crap in the tub and have relations with all the flight attendants. And then it might be worth it.
A new definition to the mile high club!
Id still feel dirty after an $18,000 shower.
One ton of payload equating to 25 tons of carbon cost does not compute.
Shower the rich with gold.
Hold on.
According to the post it makes it look like its $18,000 for Just the shower.
From the Original article it looks like the $18,000 is for the 1st class ticket.
Still insanely expensive, but i haven't priced Dubai->New York tickets.
That's what Elliot Spitzer pays for a shower.
Bos'un: 1 ton of water = 239 gallons. Very hard to get 1 ton of carbon from 9.5 gallons of water!!
@ajm3: I'd imagine that the carbon is from the extra fuel needed to generate extra thrust to carry all that water in flight. Otherwise if the water itself had that much carbon you'd need a shower to rinse off that shower afterwards.
well, a hot shower is still something you can't get on most private jets, right? and taking a private jet uses a lot more CO2 than a first-class ticket on an a380 - so if the ultra-rich actually buy into this, the world will be better off, right? god, that ain't right.
Do they store the used water anywhere on the plane or they just drain it out?
I'm asking because... who hasn't peed in the shower before?
I mean, with all the bubbly they serve in first class... you are bound to get more in the drain than what you put out of the faucet....
<3 the last paragraph! :D
Just thought about this a bit more. Why doesn't someone bring back Zeppelin (helium only please) air travel again? I mean just charge a rediculous amount to travel on it so these richies take it instead of airplanes. Way more green overall and still exclusive enough to appease the Paris Hilton-esque rich types.
who's to say that the $18,000 isn't paying for some carbon offsets.
That's how Al Gore does it - builds a honkin' big house that uses more electricity in a day that most houses use in a year, and then buys some offsets to make him feel all righteous.
Carbon Offsets = hypocrisy at its finest.
I stand corrected. If we take the max fuel and max takeoff weight scenario for the A380-800 [en.wikipedia.org] the payload will be 35,200 kg. (about 1/3 the listed max payload)
* Max takeoff weight: 560,000 kg
* Operating empty weight: 276,800 kg
* Max Fuel weight: 248,000 kg (310,000 L x 0.80 kg/L)
Each kg of payload requires 7 kg of fuel. (248,000 / 35,200)
Combustion will produce 2.44 kg of CO2 for each kg of fuel burned:
* C8H18 + 12.5 O2 --> 8 CO2 + 9 H2O
* (carbon mass = 12, oxygen mass = 16, hydrogen mass = 1)
* gasoline mass = 8*12 + 18 = 114
* CO2 mass = 8 * (12 + 2*16) = 352
Flying a ton of payload (in this worst case scenario) will produce 17 tons of CO2.
((7 kg_fuel per kg_payload) * (2.44 kg_CO2 / kg_fuel))
It's not 25:1, but definitely in the same ballpark.
$18,000 for a shower like 10 hours in advance?
I don't think so.
@Slartibartfast:
golden?
@tidybowl: Isn't buying Carbon Offsets like setting up a peeing section in a public pool? Sure you pay for the right to pee in the pool but that's still pee in the pool regardless of how much you paid.
@TheCyberBob: Ding ding ding!
Might be a tad slow, though.
Although I guess if I paid 18,000$ for a flight, I'd rather it take a few days.
"who's to say that the $18,000 isn't paying for some carbon offsets".
who's to say that the $18,000 isn't paying for some
TIME WITH THE BLONDE
sorry - brunette - my bad
While I like their ambition, and concede there's few things more relaxing than a shower when traveling long distances, I have to agree with the environmentalists: there is waste in dragging 25 extra tons per flight (for something passengers will use sparingly).
Ah, but "pferde_schwanz" got really close to the zinger here. The way carbon offsets work, you see, what they need to do is get Beachcraft or Leer to sell a private jet with a hot shower in it. Then, they can say that the carbon footprint of providing the option of a shower to their first class passengers, they're OFFSETTING the carbon that would have been used if EACH of those first class passengers had bought and flown on their own private jet so that they could have the same OPTION to shower. Remember, each ticket in first class costs 18,000 regardless of you USING the shower.
So, the way Carbon Offsets work,this airline can claim they're offsetting the all that carbon per passenger for the production and operation of a private jet. They can then sell those offset credits to allow Al Gore to live nicely in his mansion and drive his big cars and so on while feeling guilt-free.
If by now you're thinking Carbon Offsetting is utter and complete crap -- welcome to reality.
BTW: I recall having a client fly me first class on a British Airways 777 some years back when those were new, and the round trip ticket to London from Boston was 7500 bucks. Similarly, A first class Delta ticket to Tokyo from Boston was in that range as well. While both offer nice international first class service, they aren't even in the same light cone as what Emerites is apparently planning.
how many people do you know hops on a flight without first taking a shower at home? are people that dirty that they need a shower in the sky?
brings new meaning to the term "filthy" rich.
@mricyfire: This will be so worth having sex in it. I'd have sex in every each single foot of the bathroom and shower.
It better be 18k for like a good amount of time an hour or two.
@Bos'un's Mate: Oh jesus, lololol
Gotta love the wet wipes when you have been stuck next to 2 guys you just know have been jacking off under the table to the stewardess which walks up and down every 5 mins.
guys you just showed a pic of a nudie on a muslim airline. do you have a dutch death wish (DDW)?
@Arelar: I missed the "Muslims Only" disclaimer on the sales contract between passengers and Emirates Air.
I also missed the part in Islam where Muslims are required to shower in their clothes.
I need a really eloquent and convincing greenie to explain to me how one Kg of avgas creates 2.4kg of CO2.
Really? Combustion creates mass?
What is that I smell?
i flew emirates once to india, that airline is kickass even in coach. you get a comfortable seat, with plenty of leg room, foot stool, head rests with working flaps, and hundreds of on-demand, movies, shows, and music. plus the cabin lights change with the day and the flight staff all look pretty and speak multiple languages (the staff we had spoke 9 i believe).
@SneakerFiend: It is for 12 hours stright, from Dubai to New York. I have been to New York once, but I had to leave from Dubai to London, then from London to NY, it took me 15 hours. People remember, this is a 12-hour flight.
@Samifumi: By the way, we are not required to shower in our cloths. :)
@xamarshahx: I love Emirates Airlines. :)
What's with the Al Gore haters? Like denigrating Gore suddenly makes you a eco-rebel? Yeah, Gore has a big house and travels by private plane, so what? You expect him to bike to every presentation he gives?
I do not think carbon offset is a piece of crap, AndrewJayPollack ye who comes up with the gem of "Remember, each ticket in first class costs 18,000 regardless of you USING the shower." O RLY? I forgot, thank you for reminding me? And what's with using the conspiratorial "they" as if carbon offset companies are trying to squeeze every drop of you, as opposed to, say, Exxon, BP, etc who are? Why aren't you attacking those motherf*ckers?
Unlike you, I flew in intl first class using my own dime.
@Geisrud:
Attacking carbon offset, you big man now? Hypocrisy at its finest is not attacking the big oil who is squeezing every dime out of you but attacking those who are trying to make a difference.
Don't these Bozos bathe before they leave the house?
In addition, in most 1st class lounges (departure and arrival) around the world, there are shower facilities - some even rival that of a spa. I can only think of two reasons to take a shower in the sky: 1) post-activity clean up and 2) just so you can say on Gizmodo I peed in the shower in the air.
Do Arabs from oil even bathe?
@qbrad: They bathe in pools of gold, like Scrooge McDuck.
@av8thor: Sorry I wasn't more explicit. Stoichiometric combustion occurs as:
C8H18 + 12.5 O2 --> 8 CO2 + 9 H2O where,
carbon mass = 12, oxygen mass = 16, hydrogen mass = 1
C8H18 mass = 8(12) + 18(1) = 114
O2 mass = 2(16) = 32
CO2 mass = 1(12) + 2(16) = 44
H2O mass = 2(1) + 16(1) = 18
114kg C8H18 + 12.5(32)kg O2 = 8(44)kg CO2 + 9(18)kg H2O
114kg C8H18 + 400kg O2 = 352kg CO2 + 162kg H2O
So yes, 1kg of avgas produces 2.44 kg of CO2. Mass is fully conserved. No bullshit.
@qbrad: -Exactly. I thought this was a non-event as Arabs don't bathe, right?
@spaceman7: Ok...back away from the radio. Michael Savage is not your friend. Rush isn't either.
@qbrad: @spaceman7: You two are SO banned. Can I get it..?
@Bos'un's Mate: Would be correct if turbine engines used isooctane (or even avgas), but they use Jet A-1 fuel with a range of carbon numbers from 9-16 (as defined by BP's MSDS), which significantly increases the molar quantity of CO2 produced per kg fuel.
Envirocomment: check
Anti-envirocomment: check
Anti-anti-envirocomment: check
Anti-Al-Gorecomment: check
Anti-anti-Al-Gorecomment: check
Somebodyelse's-moneycomment: check
My-own-damned-moneycomment-cause-I'm-rich-but-don't bragcomment: check
Scientific-debate-questioning-the-sourcecomments: check
Hotpic!comment: check
Sexcomment: check
Sexfetishcomment: check
Anti-muslimcomment: check
Anti-anti-muslimcomment: check
Racistcomment: check
Jackassmetacomment: check
*mulls over the list*
Okay, we just need a few more things here...some kind of rebuttal to the racistcomment, possibly some kind of "fanboy" call - although that will be difficult here...although we do have the Emirates and Air India love, a decent start - something generally misogynist plus the rebuttal would be good. A couple of dead memes (blend, clean overlords, whatever). If we can keep up the pace, we may be able to cover all the bases in less than 50 comments. Let's get on it people!
Good. I have yet to meet more than a handful of arabs that don't tend to smell like shit frequently.
@Topcat: Thanks! That