Airplane Casinos Arriving In The Future

As reported by the West Australian: Imagine lounging in a bar or gambling on board an aeroplane. Walking around a shop, dining in a restaurant, sleeping in a private cabin, showers, massages and even a gym. Several airlines - including Australia's own Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic - have snapped up the supersized Airbus A380 jets, with 97 of the aircraft on order world-wide. The double-decker, 500-555 seat $US250 million aviation beast is set to revolutionise air travel when it enters into commercial operation in early 2006, said Airbus marketing analyst Thomas Burger. Some Asian carriers were considering using the extra space in the lower deck for a casino, Airbus executive vice president customer affairs John Leahy said. 'Some Asian carriers are talking to us about even a casino down below, where you could have a little pub and little slot machines,' Mr. Leahy said.

That's interesting CD. As far as I know I think it is still illegal in the U.S. for there to be any gambling aboard any jet that arrives or leaves from here. I wonder if the lobbyists are still out in full force trying to change those laws as they were (including Swissair) in 1996 (see the thread on the 1996 D.O.T. report). Do you know what Canada�s position is on this?

Regarding gambling on board aircraft? I can't say that I'm aware of any specific laws one way or another. I know that some provinces allow "charity" casinos and others allow video lottery terminals (VLTs), which are sort of like slot machines - but different. Those are all on the ground, of course.

However, whether these types of activities would be allowed on board aircraft? I have no idea how an operator would go about applying for a license. I would imagine that something like that would fall under provincial gaming legislation (for a Canadian-based operator) and the Canadian Transportation Agency as they grant the business licenses to both domestic and international carriers. But that just guessing on my part without any specific facts to back it up...

As you state for the US, the practice may simply be prohibited.