AURA Brings Luxe Lower-Cost Flights
Jennifer Billock July 11, 2018
This new private airline is taking first class to a whole new level—think zero gravity seats, five-course meals, a private cabin, and more—all for about half of what you’d pay for first-class seats on a typical commercial carrier.
The United States will soon welcome its first five-star flight experience with AURA, which will begin domestic flights in 2019. On AURA flights, first class is in the back of the plane, but still offers “the widest seats (20″) with the most legroom (44″) of any domestic first-class service in the United States,” House Beautiful reported. In addition to that, first-class passengers get “a rotating menu of fusion tapas, SushiBar selections, and a curated list of wine, liquor, and cocktails;” private airport service; high-speed wifi; an iPad Pro; and a virtual reality headset for the flight.
Up at the front of the plane, a class called WAVE takes the typical first-class cabin spot. WAVE is an 8-person exclusive cabin with zero-gravity seats designed to integrate with sleep psychology and is similar to flying in a private jet. Travelers can even sign up for Book the Cook, a preordered five-course meal.
Pricing for the flights is nothing short of reasonable for a high-end first class experience. One-off flights start at about $560, about half of what you’d pay for a typical commercial first-class flight. But you can also sign up to be an AURA KeyHolder, which costs $250 a month, but puts you in the first class cabin for a fixed $280 or in WAVE for about $680.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
I'm very skeptical. I picked a random city pair, Los Angeles to Denver and a random date, Delta charges $499 for a round trip., Aura charges keyholders $660. The public (non-keyholder) pricing is $1320. Then I picked a transcontinental flight, Los Angeles to New York. You have to break up the trip. Los Angeles to Chicago then Chicago go NY round trip is $1,820 while commercially it's under $1000. Plus you have to factor in the $250 monthly fee. I also have to ask, is the hard produce better than Jetblue's MINT. According to the article, Aura boasts .>> the widest seats (20″) with the most legroom (44″) of any domestic first-class service in the United States<<. But JetBlue's MINT product has 20.5" width seats and at least 58"