Quaffing champagne at 40,000ft, flying from glitzy party to awards dos and back again in time for bed — it’s a hard life being an A-lister with your own luxury jet. This week celebrities have been shamed for using private planes too much.
Private jets emit as much carbon dioxide per hour than the average individual does over a year
A private jet can emit as much carbon dioxide as an average person in one hour. In fact, private aircraft are 14 times more polluting per passenger than commercial ones.
Yet their super-rich owners — many of whom boast about their apparent eco credentials — are hopping on and off their jets for trips that last less than 15 minutes.
British marketing agency Yard created a list of worst-offenders using data from an international flight tracker.
So which plane is the biggest polluter of air? And who’s the biggest climate hypocrite among the high fliers?
Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner, 24, shared a picture on Instagram showing two private planes — her own and one belonging to her rapper boyfriend, Travis Scott — with the smug caption: ‘You wanna take mine or yours?’
THE JET Kim Kardashian’s younger sister Kylie has been labelled a ‘climate criminal’ for repeated shorthaul trips on her £60million jet.
Last month, the billionaire social media star, 24, shared a picture on Instagram showing two private planes — her own and one belonging to her rapper boyfriend, Travis Scott — with the smug caption: ‘You wanna take mine or yours?’
On a spending spree reported to have been in 2020, she bought the white Bombardier Global 7,500 at 59.6 feet long. The exterior features her name and a Barbie-pink strip, while the interiors have white seats, pink satin pillows and eye masks (bearing ‘Kylie Skin’, the name of her make-up range) and coloured lights that can be set to different hues depending on the time of day.
You will find Hermes blankets, two bathrooms and an on-board closet.
FLIGHTS TAKEN64 in this year.
SHORTEST FLIGHT 12 minutes, Van Nuys to Camarillo (both in California).
CO2 EMITTED: 1,682.7 tons — 240 times the average person.
ECO BOASTS Kylie prides herself on buying eco-friendly products for her daughter Stormi, four, and made her make-up range vegan last year, telling followers she was going ‘vegan and clean’ because it was ‘time to elevate’ for the planet.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift, 32, used to own two jets but sold the smaller one (worth a mere £4.9 million) in early 2020.
THE JET The 32-year-old singer — worth an estimated £470 million — bought her private plane, a £33million Dassault-Breguet Mystere Falcon 900, in 2011.
The interior is rich in cream with inbuilt flatscreen TVs. It has 18 fully reclineable chairs and the unique number 13. This number represents her lucky number, December birthdate.
She used to own two jets but sold the smaller one (worth a mere £4.9 million) in early 2020.
FLIGHTS TAKEN This year, 170
SHORTEST FLIGHT 36 minutes, Missouri to Nashville, Tennessee
CO2 EMITTED: 8,293.54 tons — 1,185 times the average person’s annual carbon emissions of seven tons.
ECO BOASTS In 2020, Taylor was branded a ‘sustainable fashion influencer’ by Vogue.
In another interview that same year, she branded climate change a ‘horrific situation’.
A representative defended her apparent air miles, saying that her jet is ‘loaned out regularly to other individuals’. They added: ‘To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.’
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey (pictured with her husband Stedman Graham) bought a £62million Gulfstream G650 in 2016
THE JET With an estimated net worth of more than £2 billion, it’s no wonder TV host Oprah has her own posh plane. The 68-year-old bought a £62million Gulfstream G650 in 2016, reportedly after becoming irritated when a female fan asked her for a hug while she was waiting in an airport queue.
You can fit 16 passengers comfortably in this luxurious jet. It is divided into four themes: dine/work, entertain/relax, and relaxation. There’s a double bed, a conference room and a dining area as well as an on-board chef.
FLIGHTS REQUESTED:It was 68 in 2017.
TOURIST AIRFARE: 14 minutes from Van Nuys to Santa Barbara (California).
CO2 EMITTED: 3,493.17 tons — 499 times the average person.
ECO BOASTS ‘The future of life as we know it is being determined by everything we’re doing — and not doing — now,’ wrote Oprah, in a 2019 post calling on fans to do their bit for the environment.
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg (51), was criticized for flying short distances from London to Dublin (48 mins) and on to Shannon (23/23mins) to play a round golf.
THE JET Actor Mark, 51, owns a £9.9 million Bombardier Global Express jet, which he bought in 2016.
The top-of-the-range model — which he had renovated at vast expense last year — has a large ‘W’ on the tail and such a spacious cabin that the fitness-obsessed star can do workouts on board.
His social media photos show soft, beige furniture and polished wood. He also has several screens to allow his children access the wi-fi on a variety of devices.
Mark took a short flight from London to Dublin, 48 minutes each way (and then to Shannon for a round) last month.
FLIGHTS TAKEN 101 in this year.
SHORTEST FLIGHT 9 minutes, Los Angeles to Van Nuys California
CO2 EMITTED: 3,772.85 tons — 538.9 times the average person.
ECO BOASTS In 2020, Mark publicly pledged to give up meat and dairy to reduce his impact on the planet. Yet he has said his jet is his ‘personal 21st century transporter’ that takes him ‘anywhere in the world’.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian (41) owns the Gulfstream G650ER. It is an upgraded version of planes owned by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Kim Kardashian
THE JET: Bedecked in cashmere, the reality TV star’s £124million jet, ‘Kim Air’, is as gaudy as you might expect.
Kim, 41 years old, has a Gulfstream G650ER. It is a more expensive version of planes that Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos own. Waldo Fernandez the interior designer, who has worked with Brad Pitt and Elizabeth Taylor, designed her customized inside and outside.
The 18-seater jet features wood panelling, two beds and two bathrooms as well as ‘enhanced air ionisation’, which recreates a fresh breeze at high altitude.
Guests wear slippers from Skims, Kim’s underwear brand, lest they muddy the carpet.
FLIGHTS TAKEN 56 this year.
SHORTEST FLIGHTTen minutes (Van Nuys, Camarillo California).
CO2 EMITTED: 4,268.5 tons — 609.8 times the average person.
ECO BOASTS The reality star has spoken in the past about wanting her businesses to be more environmentally-friendly. In 2019, she praised climate activist Greta Thunberg, and, a year later, she tweeted: ‘Climate change is real’ alongside an emoji of a broken heart.
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise, 60, often flies his private planes himself, having qualified for his pilot’s licence in 1994
THE JET The Top Gun star, 60, owns not one but five private jets — the most opulent of which is the 19-seat Gulfstream IV, worth around £16.5 million. It is nicknamed “The Limousine of Jet World” because it has a Jacuzzi as well as a top-of-the range cinema room and elegant soft furnishings.
The actor often flies his private planes himself, having qualified for his pilot’s licence in 1994.
They are also sent on unpaid gift-giving missions all over the globe. Last Christmas, he reportedly flew 300 cakes by private jet from his favourite bakery in California to London for the cast and crew of the Mission: Impossible film franchise — a round trip of 5,500 miles.
FLIGHTS TAKEN: 20.
SHORTEST FLIGHT12 minutes, Shannon to Killarney (Ireland).
CO2 EMITTED: 149.6 tons — 21.4 times the average person.
ECO BOASTS In 2019, Tom was among the A-listers criticised for flying privately to Google’s climate change camp in 2019, a faux pas he repeated this May when he took one of his jets to the eco-friendly Cannes film festival.
Floyd Mayweather
Flord Mayweather, 45, owns a £50million Gulfstream G650 jet called ‘Air Mayweather’
THE JET One of the ‘richest sportsmen of all time’ (his career earnings top £900 million) the 45-year-old retired boxer owns a £50million Gulfstream G650 jet called ‘Air Mayweather’.
Floyd purchased the item for his 41st year-old birthday. He shares photos of himself enjoying massages as well as haircuts and playing poker aboard.
On the outside, the 12-seater jet features the boxer’s surname alongside the letters ‘TBE’ — ‘The Best Ever’. Floyd also has a fleet of personal pilots, who wear branded uniforms with the insignia ‘TMT’ or ‘The Money Team’.
FLIGHTS TAKENIt was 177 in 2018.
SHORTEST FLIGHTTen minutes in Las Vegas
CO2 EMITTED: 7,076.8 tons — 1,011 times the average person.
ECO BOASTS Floyd makes flippant comments about his jet, such as: ‘When you live this lifestyle, you just wing it.’