What Do Kids Do On Private Jets?

In the race to court customers, VistaJet offers young travelers a fantasy at 45,000 feet.

- Adrien Glover

“Go ahead, try some,” urges the Mad Hatter, a jovial redhead in a tall feathered hat and tails. He gestures toward a small apothecary bottle labeled “Drink Me.” It takes little persuading for Oona, my 7-year-old daughter, to grab it and gingerly sip, being careful not to spill any on her blue dress and white pinafore. Moments earlier her little brother, Zane, devoured a frosted sugar cookie that turned his mouth Cookie Monster blue. Soon, both are eagerly sampling other delights the be- hatted actor, Fergus Adamson, sets out on a little table before them.

Like everything else staged in the back eight seats of the Global 5000 Bombardier business jet—including games of dominoes and croquet—it’s part of an extravagant (and expensive) tea party produced at a turbulence-free 45,000 feet. Up in the front section of the plane, three adults sip Ruinart Blanc de Blanc Champagne while checking email, completely undisturbed by the action a few rows back. They can’t even hear the children’s squeals of delight when it comes time to eat the chocolate truffles they made themselves by hand.

Welcome to the world’s first official Alice in Wonderland adventure in the sky.

For many kids on terra firma, playing dress-up and having a performer isn’t outlandish at a themed birthday party, but at cruising altitude, entertainment options are usually limited to a screen and headphones. Not so with VistaJet Group Holding Ltd., the subscription-based global aviation company that launched its Adventures in the Sky program on June 1.