Which Famous Celebrities Own Private Jets?

There are numerous celebrities that fly in style aboard their own private jets, such as Tom Cruise. The actor owns a Gulfstream IV, which flies at 45,000 feet (10,000+ more than most commercial aircraft). By most people's accounts, Cruise is generous and self-deprecating, but when he's flying, he cannot help but look down upon people. When Cruise flies, the air inside his cabin is refreshed every two minutes, pressurized at 6,000 feet, and he can check email and surf the Web whenever he wants. When he flies into a foreign country, he doesn't have to go through customs; the agent comes to him.

The Gulfstream line has been a popular choice for alpha males for many years- John Travolta, Mark Cuban, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs, among others, own these planes and they fly in the manner in which most of us drive. Travolta takes his aviation very seriously; his house is outfitted like a real airport- he owns both a Gulfstream and a Boeing 707, which he used to fly supplies to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. Most celebrities that own Boeings, such as Kirk Kerkorian, Rupert Murdoch, and various heads of state, use the Business Jet, which is a modified 737. A lot of well-known business leaders prefer this over any other corporate jet.

These celebrity jets are usually delivered "green", which means the interiors are unfinished. Most rely on firms that offer custom design service, to give their plane a look unlike anyone else's. Some celebrity planes have been outfitted with things like dance floors and hammocks; custom interiors take a lot of time and money (up to 25% of the total price of the plane). However, Boeing and Gulfstream are not the only choices for celebrities that want to fly privately; Oprah Winfrey flies in a Bombardier Global Express, as does Guy Laliberte and Celine Dion. Actor/pilot Harrison Ford prefers his De Haviland DHC-2 Beaver, and Sydney Pollack owns a Citation X.

Some celebrities who like to fly in style do not like the inconvenience and cost of maintaining a private jet, so they choose to own a jet through fractional ownership. Celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks and Jerry Seinfeld have memberships in NetJets, a timeshare company.