Here’s a flock of falcons flying in an airplane, in case you’re wondering what that looks like
Fact: Flying coach is officially for the birds. No animals could offer stronger support of that sentiment than this flock of falcons in an airplane cabin — 80 falcons to be exact.
According to Town & Country, a reddit user posted a photo online that shows the falcons in flight, and it’s a quite a sight. In case you’re wondering what a plane full of birds looks like, imagine that couple who got an entire private airplane to themselves, then mentally Photoshop a bunch of hood-wearing falcons in all the empty seats and voilà, you have this exact falcon-turned-passenger scenario.
Well, not exactly. The avian passengers were actually accompanied by a Saudi prince, aka their owner and person who loves his bird bros enough to finance all 80 of their plane tickets. Like, we’ve heard of keeping yourself entertained with creative plane activities, but somehow, we don’t think this fits the bill.
"My captain friend sent me this photo," the caption reads. "Saudi prince bought tickets for his 80 hawks."
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Until we saw this photo, we had no interest in finding out what it’s like to be seated next to a bunch of birds on a plane, but this story opens the floodgates for so many other interesting facts. For starters, did you know that there’s a such thing as a falcon passport?
Yes, y’all. As Mental Floss reports, there are falcon-specific passports in the United Arab Emirates, which is a direct reflection of the popularity of falconry in the Middle East. And since falcons aren’t exactly the cheapest pets to own — they can cost up to $250,000 each — airlines like Qatar airways charge a pretty steep price for up to six birds to fly in an Economy Cabin.
Alright, so this is nice to know so we can avoid a panicky meltdown in the event that we ever find ourselves face to face with a beaked airplane passenger.
