HONG KONG, Sept 9 — Hong Kong-based luxury travel agent Intriq Journey was recently appointed Virgin Galactic’s regional agent, and with it comes a once-in-a-lifetime experience open to Asians. For a mere US$600,000 (RM2.6 million) you can boldly go where few have gone before — a journey into space and back that lasts around three hours.
But hold your horses — even if you have the spare change, Virgin Galactic accepts only referrals. “We’re not open to the public in the sense of selling tickets, since we only have a limited number of space flights,” said Virgin Galactic vice-president and general manager of customer operations James Willoughby. “Broadly speaking, we are taking referrals.
Each referral that comes to us, we see that individual as adding to the community.” Currently, there are about 800 people on Virgin Galactic’s passenger waiting list, reported South China Morning Post . They range in age from seven to 89, from more than 60 nationalities.
If Virgin Galactic's prices seem a little hefty — note that Elon Musk's SpaceX charged three wealthy patrons US$55 million (RM240 million) each for a week’s stay at the International Space Station in 2022. As for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, free tickets to celebrities like William Shatner aside — he reportedly charged others US$28 million (RM122 million) for a front-row seat to space. Your ‘budget’ option to space would be a US firm Space Perspective which takes passengers on a six-hour journey to t.