Virgin calls NZ travel agents to hawk tickets to space

The dream of personal space travel may become a reality for some New Zealanders, as travel agents consider selling tickets to space.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is appointing agents around the world to sell seats on its SpaceShipTwo space flights - expected to take off by 2009.

This week, travel and tourism agencies received a copy of Travel Today, which advertised the scheme.

Agencies must apply to become Galactic accredited, and several Auckland travel brokers are already considering submitting proposals, due on October 18.

Flight Centre said it had been discussing Virgin's venture, and would be talking with branch managers over the next week to gauge thoughts. "Firstly, we need to find people within the organisation who would be passionate about selling tickets to space," said PR manager John McGuinness. "Then we'd need to think about developing an angle and communicating that passion to Virgin."

Mr McGuinness believed there was a market for space travel in New Zealand, albeit a small one.

Mr McGuinness said: "One booking could bring a very lucrative return. Attracting the market would require establishing a specialist marketing campaign."

Trade Me founder Sam Morgan, who sold his internet auction site for $700 million this year, said: "I don't have any aspirations to do it and if I had the opportunity to go tomorrow I probably wouldn't."

Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard said he would jump at the opportunity, providing it was a return ticket. "I'm a born adventurer."

But former Auckland city mayor and businessman John Banks, who has travelled to 70,000 feet in a Concorde, said he would pass up the opportunity, preferring to save his money for a trip to the moon.

Because Virgin is only looking to appoint a few agents, many New Zealand agencies interested in applying for accreditation preferred not to be named, in fear of compromising their chances.

Virgin Galactic says it is looking for agents that are committed to the highest level of customer care and is keen to appoint agencies of all sizes and in all kinds of locations.

The company has appointed nine space agents, all in Australia.

Bicton Travel in Perth was one of the first agencies on board.

One inner-city broker said it had been keeping a close eye on Australia's interest in the scheme and was assessing how it too might get involved.

So far, 150 seats have been sold worldwide for the flights, which will take six passengers at a time into space at a cost of US$200,000 ($307,000).

Big windows will give star trekkers a clear view of the curvature of the Earth and the thinness of the atmosphere as they float weightless, 300,000 feet above the planet. Passengers will have three days of training and a medical screening before the 2 1/2-hour journey, and Sir Richard says 80 per cent of those who want to travel will be fit enough to do so.

With seats shaped like scooped-out slices of melon, and a crisp white interior spotted with portholes on the walls, floor and ceiling, SpaceShipTwo looks similar to a small passenger aeroplane. But there will be no in-flight meals, only "a number of products" to settle the stomach and bowels ahead of the enormous G-forces that passengers will experience.

Virgin has done away with its plans for tethers that might restrict passengers' movement in zero gravity, and it is not certain yet that travellers will have to wear pressure suits.

Passengers are expected to waive Virgin's liability for their safety, and financiers are already planning special two-and-a-half-hour life insurance policies for travellers. However,Virgin insists safety is paramount and says operations will only start once a full testing procedure has been completed.

Three Australian agencies plan to travel to Virgin's commercial spaceport in the US this year for an overview of the space training and to meet Sir Richard.