CASINO IN THE SKY

15 February 2008

Asian entrepeneurs are preparing to take a high flying gamble on gamblers


In a move that may be the 21st century equivalent of riverboat or international waters cruise ship gambling, Asian entrepeneurs are exploring the possibility of a high flying casino aboard the world's biggest commercial airliner.

Airbus, the European aircraft maker, said it has been approached by unidentified potential Asian buyers looking to turn its giant A380 into a casino.

The aircraft certainly has the range and sufficient space for a compact but action-packed enterprise. The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engine giant and the largest passenger airliner in the world. The prototype made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and the first commercial flight took place in October last year (2007) from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

With a capability to carry up to a maximum of 853 passengers, the A380 has already earned the nickname Superjumbo - a reference to its 50 percent more floor space than the previous record holder, the venerable and ubiquitous Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

Referring to gambling, Francois Chazelle, the head of Executive and Private Aviation at Airbus commented: "This is clearly a growing business in Asia and what this interest reflects is what is happening in Macau and Singapore. The idea of a flying casino has been mentioned before but it's now looking a lot more concrete."

Chazelle added that providing a bespoke A380 for casino operations was not a short term project, and it could take until 2012 before the first airborne A 380 casino takes off. That leaves ample time for the lawyers to unravel the legal challenges that such a cross-border enterprise might involve.

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