Flying the supersonic Bora with Jungastian Imperial
Supersonic travel is taking off in a big way. What is it like to fly on the new Bora airliner?
19 March 2013
The luxurious seats aboard Jungastian Imperial
Airways' new Bora jet offer cavernous legroom
by E̊sbjus Harlan
Let me start by admitting something; I enjoy traveling for the sake of traveling. And yes, I even enjoy flying, sometimes. Sometimes is the key word here. Oftentimes it can be a bother. Or it can just be painfully dull.
There are a few airlines though that have maintained the sort of mid-century glamour that's been mythologized in such sources as the RTVL-produced TV dramedy Groussherzogliche Fliger Gesellschaft. GFG itself I can safely say is one of the best I've flown on, but another is Jungastian Imperial Airways. JIA has for some time now operated supersonic flights, although unlike GFG they have never operated them to Windstrand.
Indeed, it was rather out of the way, boarding an ordinary JIA flight to St Andrews to connect with the St Andrews to Waterford flight. Nevertheless, it would scarcely be possible for me to pass up what is billed as the best supersonic service in Maredoratica.
At the airport
Even upon arriving at Roi Jacques International Airport in St Andrews the attention to detail JIA shows is almost unnerving. Upon seeing my ticket had a connection to the supersonic "Volo Class" flight to Waterford, a sharply dressed JIA employee ushered me to the ostentatious Viceroy's Rooms lounge to wait for the flight. The wait was a scant twenty minutes, and despite this, I was treated exceptionally.
When it came time to board, me and several dozen other passengers were taken aboard the plane, through a literally red-carpeted jetway, and shown to our seats.
The aircraft
One of the reasons I was adamant to try the flight for myself was the plane in question; only recently, JIA took delivery of the Monteluci Bora.
One does not have to be an aficionado of aviation to realize the immense technological achievement the Bora represents. At nearly eighty metres long, it is perhaps the largest aircraft ever to break the speed of sound. Built from heat-resistant titanium mined and processed here in Sondstead and propelled by four engines derived from the Astore stealth plane, it cruises faster than many fighter jets, and JIA proudly boasted to me that it flies the nearly four and a half thousand kilometres between St Andrews and Waterford in only two hours and forty five minutes. Unlike it's famed predecessor, the Khamsin, it produces no more noise than an ordinary airliner even as breaks the sound barrier.
Inside, it's even harder not to be impressed. The legroom on offer in the leather seats is massive, the seats themselves feel like high end armchairs, and the entertainment system is as sophisticated as it gets.
The flight
And then finally, it was time for takeoff. We cruised smoothly into the air and accelerated to twice the speed of sound at more than eighteen thousand metres and turned southwest towards the tiny Antillean principality of Somerset. The flight was pleasant, but could never be described as uneventful in it's extravagance. A lunch of a salad and a a hot main course was on offer though the flight was barely longer than an intercity train trip, and the entertainment selection was extraordinarily broad.
Indeed, the trip largely lived up to it's billing as the best supersonic service in Maredoratica, and upon touching down in Waterford, the clock showed a trip time of 2 hours, 43 minutes — two minutes shorter than scheduled. I can honestly say I can't remember ever having taken a flight that arrived early before this. But as luxuriant as the service was, there comes a point where there can be too much of a good thing. To be honest, for very many people Jungastian Imperial is perhaps too ostentatious, too fussy even.
And then I got to the price tag. Not including the connecting flight from Windstrand even, my two-way ticket was listed at 44,995 Jungastian Libra — a whopping 113,000 Sondsteadish Krons or 19,000 International Dollars, roughly. At that price, all I can say is that I hope I can pass it off as an expense.
E̊sbjus Harlan is a travel writer and SRR contributor. His new book, Sleepless in Anzère, described by the publisher as "A daring, funny, and at times firsthand look at the true stories of the underground Hippostanian moonshine runners and the rebellious drinkers who keep them in business." is now out in English.
Mr. Harlan's ticket was not complimentary of Jungastian Imperial Airways. All opinions are the intellectual property of the author and neither belong to, nor represent the opinions of, SRR Sondstead World. This article was translated from the original Sondsteadish by the SRR staff.
