Travel agent first in Scotland to offer space flight tickets

Will space flights become a common sight in travel agents' windows alongside package holidays? Montage: DAVE HAMBURGH

Local holidaymakers with a spare 125,000 under their mattress are being invited to reserve their seat on one of the first flights into space.

A Leith business has become the only Scottish travel agent to be able to sell tickets for the spaceship, with the first flight leaving in two years' time.

It means that locals who stump up the cash can be among the first in the world to sail among the stars and get prime views of the Earth.

Dream Escape, on Mitchell Street, has become the first Accredited Space Agent in the country, selling tickets on behalf of Virgin Galactic.

Already owners David Tobin and Holly Mackie have had a "high level" of interest from four people, including an 87-year-old from Glasgow.

Would you like to sign up for Virgin's 125,000 space flight holidays? Vote here

Across the world just over 400 people have signed up for the journey since Virgin began building its spaceship and Spaceport in America.

Mr Tobin said: "We're delighted to have been picked to sell the tickets. We met one of Richard Branson's right-hand men last year and it's all gone from there. There are two different deposit levels. You can pay the 125,000 up front, which will guarantee you are one of the first 500 to travel into space within the first year of its launch. Or you can pay a deposit (of 12,500].

"Quite an eclectic mix of people have signed up so far, including some of the world's biggest movers and shakers.

"It's not just a case of getting on the shuttle and enjoying a two to three-hour journey; it's a three-day programme. Travellers are taken out to New Mexico to a purpose-built space centre because they need to make sure everybody is fit, trained and safe to go."

He added: "This is definitely a luxury trip, but it's not the most expensive package we've ever sold. We have dealt with a ten-day holiday that cost 400,000 for seven people."

The 36-year-old said Dream Escape planned to offer a 155,000 package, which included training such as racing on a Formula 1 track, spinning in a centrifugal force machine and experience on a zero gravity flight. He explained: "People will only experience eight to ten minutes of weightlessness in space, so they don't want to spend their time acclimatising."

It is believed that travel in Virgin's spaceship, called SpaceShipTwo, will be possible within 18 to 24 months. Mr Tobin, however, pointed out that it could be longer if more safety checks were needed.

GOT A SPARE 125,000?

IF space isn't your cup of tea, here are a few other things 125,000 could buy you:

600 three-day weekends at Butlins for four people

Five nights in Hugh Hefner's Las Vegas villa

Rent a panda for three months

240,300 Cadbury's Creme Eggs

An Aston Martin DB5

A one-bedroom flat in Meadowbank