Demand for space flights taking off
According to Virgin Galactic, everybody is falling over themselves to leave Earth. We can’t imagine why ...
UK entrepreneur Richard Branson’s firm has reported that it has received nearly 8,000 registrations of interest for commercial sub-orbital flights, an increase of more than 50 per cent compared with the quantity recorded at the end of September last year. The firm’s first sub-orbital test flight took place in 2018 and its inaugural flights will launch later in 2020; currently, 600 tickets have been sold.
Virgin Galactic, which is based in California, has begun taking deposits for the next round of tickets for its flights, though full prices and timing are not currently available – rather, interest can be registered, and would-be space adventurers can be put on a waiting list.
So, does the insurance industry need to take note? Are we on the cusp of a boom in galactic trips for any old Tom, Dick and Harry? Well, considering that tickets for Virgin Galactic’s first commercial sub-orbital flights retailed at a cool $250,000 – with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio among the first purchasers – probably not. But it is likely only a matter of time, as other companies such as SpaceX are racing to get in on the action.
A slightly healthier space race than the rather more geopolitically fraught competition of the 1960s, perhaps? At least the travel and travel insurance industries can rest assured that there is always somewhere new and exciting for people to head off on trips – though personally, we wouldn’t want to be the ones working out the risk profiles for a sub-orbital jaunt ...