The Titanic Hotelicopter

An incredible flying hotel has been announced by the Hotelicopter Company, based on the Mil Mi-12, because nothing says comfort like a a 1960s Soviet era airframe. Indeed, the luxury of Aeroflot in those years was matched only by its safety record. Looking at the design, I was struck by the resemblance to the visionary designs of Bruce McCall.

The luxurious interior is strongly reminiscent of the Yotel airport hotel chain. The Hotelicopter Company has clearly put all their resources into developing the vehicle, and boldly refused to accept the conventional overhead of a physical address or phone number.

The story has gotten a lot of online coverage, with thousands of sites linking to the story, but it is only now getting coverage from conventional newspapers. I think the difference in treatment highlights a key difference between old and new media.