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Flying In Style! Vintage Photos Of Celebrities And Their Private Jets

Photo Credit: Mirrorpix / Getty Images
Photo Credit: Mirrorpix / Getty Images

We are always so curious (and jealous) of the private jets of the rich and famous. It must be nice to be able to afford to travel in such luxury. Here, we take a peek at the private jets owned and used by various celebrities over the years. These photos prove that traveling by jet is truly a part of high living.

1. Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin on Fuselage
“The Starship”- the jet that Led Zeppelin used during their 1973 tour. (Photo Credit: Laurance Ratner/ Getty Images)

One of the most iconic jets of all time, “The Starship” was a former Boeing 720 passenger jet that could be leased out to rock bands traveling in the 1970s. The first band to use The Starship was Led Zeppelin during their 1973 American concert.

John Paul Jones on The Starship
John Paul Jones and his wife Mo on board the Starship, 1973. (Photo Credit: Express/ Stringer/ Getty Images)

Zeppelin’s road manager, Richard Cole, recalls the jet being a “floating gin palace.” The plane had Led Zeppelin’s logo on the fuselage and came equipped with swivel chairs, a 30-foot-brass-trimmed bar, a cassette player, a television, and even a fully functioning gas fireplace (pictured above). Obviously, the fireplace did not emit any emissions.

The band poses in front of their jet
British rock band Led Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, John Bonham (1948 – 1980), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, pose in front of their private airliner “The Starship,” 1973. (Photo Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

2. Deep Purple

Deep Purple in front of the Starship
The band Deep Purple in front of their private jet (the Starship) during their 1974 tour. (Photo Credit: Fin Costello/ Getty Images)

Led Zeppelin wasn’t the only band of the 1970s to lease out the Starship. The British rock band Deep Purple also leased out The Starship for their 1974 tour in the United States. The plane’s color scheme remained unaltered, but “Deep Purple” was now emblazoned on the fuselage rather than “Led Zeppelin.”

Deep Purple lounging on the Starship
Deep Purple lounges on the couches on The Starship. (Photo Credit: Fin Costello/ Getty Images)

Along with the amenities noted above, the Starship also featured a king-sized water bed (pictured below), completed with a white fur bedspread. The plane also included two flight attendants and cost $2500 an hour to run.

David Coverdale, Deep Purple singer, posed in the cockpit of their “Starship” plane (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
David Coverdale, Deep Purple singer, posed in the cockpit of their “Starship” plane (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)

3. Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra's private jet
Frank Sinatra’s private jet after landing at Gatwick Airport, circa May 1970. (Photo Credit: Mirrorpix/ Getty Images)

Unlike rock bands of the 1970s who often chartered private planes for themselves, some celebrities owned their own private jets. One such example is Frank Sinatra, who owned a Learjet 23 named Christina II after his youngest daughter.

The jet’s top speed was faster than 500 mph, which allowed Sinatra and his Rat Pack friends to be shuttled between different cities very quickly, and he would often lend the Learjet out to his friends. When Elvis and Priscilla Presley eloped to Las Vegas to get married, the plane he borrowed was Sinatra’s. Marlon Brando and Sammy Davis Jr. also took Sinatra’s first plane to Mississippi to join Martin Luther King Jr. in a Civil Rights march.

Sinatra's plane lowering the stairs
Pictured, stewardess Hannelori Kauspe, aged 27 on Sinatra’s personal Gulfstream jet (Photo Credit: Geoffrey Day/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

In 1967, Sinatra sold the Learjet and purchased a Gulfstream II (pictured above). The interior of the plane was fitted with dark paneling, with settees and club chairs in leather.

Interior of Frank Sinatra's private jet
Interior of Frank Sinatra’s Gulfstream private jet. (Photo Credit: Mirrorpix/ Getty Images)

4. Elvis Presley

Elvis and Priscilla Presley board a private jet
Elvis and Priscilla Presley board their private jet. (Photo Credit: Bettmann/ Getty Images)

Elvis Presley was so impressed with Frank Sinatra’s Learjet, and jet travel in general, that he bought two for himself. The first jet he bought was a Corvair 880, which he purchased in 1975. He paid $250,000 for the Corvair 880 and then spent an additional $350,000 customizing the interior.

Bathroom inside Elvis Presley's private jet
The bathroom on Elvis Presley’s private jet, the Convair 880 “Lisa Marie.” (Photo Credit: Thomas R. Machnitzki/ Wikimedia Commons)

The interior of the Corvair 880, dubbed the Lisa Marie after Elvis’s daughter, featured a forward lounge with club and divan seating, a conference room, a dining area with its own refreshment center, a bedroom with a queen-sized bed, and a private bathroom with a gold sink and faucet. The jet can now be toured at Graceland.

Dining room on board Elvis's jet
The dining room onboard Elvis Presley’s private jet, “Lisa Marie.” (Photo Credit: Thomas R. Machnitzki/ Wikimedia Commons)

5. John Travolta

John Travolta on an Airbus 380
John Travolta arrives in Brisbane flying an Airbus 380. (Photo Credit: Jonathan Wood/ Stringer/ Getty Images)

Although John Travolta is known for his acting roles in major Hollywood films, his real love is arguably flying. He got his pilot’s license at 23 and now is the owner of multiple jets and planes.

Interior of John Travolta's plane
Interior of John Travolta’s plane. (Photo Credit: Steve Granitz/ Getty Images)

One of the planes that Travolta owns is a Boeing 707, which can typically fit up to 150 passengers. However, Travolta has gutted the interior of the Boeing 707 to ensure his family and immediate entourage can fly in style. The plane features two bedrooms, a full-sized bathroom, and ample seating space.

Interior of John Travolta's private plane
Inside John Travolta’s private jet. (Photo Credit: Steve Grantiz/ Getty Images)

6. Celine Dion

Celine Dion boarding her private jet
Celine Dion boarding her private jet, getting ready to go to the Grammy’s in 2017. (Photo Credit: Celine Dion via Instagram)

Today, Celine Dion is worth more than $800 million, making her one of the most wealthy artists in the world. Because of her high net worth, Celine Dion is privy to a luxurious lifestyle, including a Bombardier BD 700 Global Express XRS jet she bought for $42 million. The private jet features several bathrooms and a full kitchen. However, the running cost for such a jet can be around $3 million dollars. Thank goodness Celine Dion has some extra cash to spare.

7. The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones's jet
The jet the Rolling Stones chartered for their 2014 World Tour. (Photo Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/ Getty Images)

The Rolling Stones are no strangers to flying on private jets and planes. Pictured above is a Boeing 737 that the Rolling Stones used for their 2014 tour which includes the band’s trademark lips image and name on the fuselage.

Guitarists Ron Wood (left) and Keith Richards
Guitarists Ron Wood (left) and Keith Richards in the Rolling Stones’ private jet during the group’s 1975 Tour of the Americas. (Photo Credit: Christopher Simon Sykes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, the Rolling Stones leased the Starship for their tour of America in 1975. However, the Rolling Stones weren’t necessarily impressed with the decor and amenities onboard the Starship. Mick Jagger famously declared the plane to be “so tacky!”

Mick Jagger reading between concerts, 1975
Mick Jagger reading on his private plane, during the Rolling Stones’s 1975 Tour of the Americas. Keyboard player Billy Preston is to Mick Jagger’s right. (Photo Credit: Christopher Simon Sykes/ Getty Images)

Madeline Hiltz

Maddy Hiltz is someone who loves all things history. She received her Bachelors of Arts in history and her Master’s of Arts degree in history both from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Her thesis examined menstrual education in Victorian England. She is passionate about Princess Diana, the Titanic, the Romanovs, and Egypt amongst other things.

In her spare time, Maddy loves playing volleyball, running, walking, and biking, although when she wants to be lazy she loves to read a good thriller. She loves spending quality time with her friends, family, and puppy Luna!

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