REPORTAGE. In Japan, a fake airline simulates trips to Paris with “a feeling close to a flight and a stay abroad”

For around forty euros, Japanese people frustrated at not being able to fly to Paris for the Olympic Games can board fake long-haul flights in a fake cabin.

For the Japanese, a holiday in France means time – they have little of it – and money, but it costs too much, because of the exchange rate. So, there is a solution, neither time-consuming nor expensive: get on a fake plane, in first class, and for two hours, pretend you are going to Paris to see the 2024 Olympic Games.

The cabin is the equivalent of a 30 m2 apartment on the 7th floor of a standard building in Tokyo. Here, as soon as you enter, you are given the illusion that you are boarding a plane to the French capital, for only 40 euros. Emiko, one of the passengers, has already been to Paris, “and since there are the Olympic Games, I would like to see again the places I have been to”she explains.

In the main room, which is very long, you would think you were actually on an airplane. The concept was born before the Covid pandemic, based on an idea by Hiroaki Abe, head of the fake company First Airlines. “The Japanese are often happy to take the plane, but in reality, it is not so common to board a plane to go abroad, he assures. The aim here is to simply offer a feeling close to a long-haul flight and a stay abroad.”

Eight first class seats, four business class seats, all functional, the sound of engines, projections of portholes on the walls, a flight attendant, screens, music: just like on a long-haul flight, destination Paris. On the way, you are served a meal, then thanks to a virtual reality headset, you visit the capital. Emiko, the sixty-year-old, was able to visit the monuments she had seen on her previous trip. “It was good”rejoices the sixty-year-old.

The fake flight attendant admits that it is often 50-60 year olds who use this service. Here, they do not only offer flights to Paris, but it remains the most popular destination, especially with the Olympic Games that have just started. “It creates enthusiasmaccording to Hiroaki Abe, “The days when we offer Paris, it’s full.”

On the downside though, the food was average, but it’s not always better on a real plane.