The World’s Priciest Flight is $38,000—Plus Another $38,000 to Get Home

But you definitely get free peanuts.

While most airlines try to entice passengers with cheap flights, Etihad Airways has long gone in the opposite direction and now the Abu Dhabi-based airline has outdone itself. 

Flying on its new route between Mumbai and New York City in its ridiculous luxury suite, dubbed The Residence, will run you $38,000. Wanna go back the other way? That’ll be another $38,000 too. 

Of course, that doesn’t sound worth it to you. How could it? But if someone’s even entertaining the notion of dropping 40 grand on a plane ticket, his sense of value is likely different from the common man’s.

So what does a $38,000 plane ride get you? Comfort and privacy, mainly. With a bedroom, bathroom and living room, The Residence is the only three-room suite in the sky. It also comes with a private butler. 

When justifying a price tag this high, you’ve got to provide more than a comfy bed and a flat screen TV. That’s why meals, which can be customized before the flight, are served on 24-carat gold plated plates. And why this bed is covered in “designer Italian linen.”

The best amenity of The Residence might the ensuite bathroom with a full show. As an Etihad butler noted to one reporter, it’s big enough for two.