Russian aircraft manufacturer develops world's first private jet for sports teams

Sukhoi’s SportJet, the world’s first private jet dedicated to sports teams and their athletes, may be the future of team travelling.

The Russian aircraft manufacturer unveiled their new toy at the 2016 Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England this week and it was quite shiny.

The 100-seat jet was designed to promote rest and recovery for athletes travelling from city to city. It consists of four sections:

1) The Recovery Zone includes specially designed massage tables for athletes requiring treatment for body aches and pains.

2) The Resting Zone isn’t just a place to sleep. It is equipped with biometrical data monitoring systems that detect changes to the body and overall health. There are also multimedia systems including 4K resolution monitors built-in to the ceiling.

3) The Coaching Zone serves as a video room and includes just as many high-tech gadgets for analysis.

4) The Administration Zone is designed so that those behind the scenes don’t feel left out.

The SportJet also includes exercise bikes, toilets with special seats that measure hydration levels and each seat has its own device for measuring your pulse, oxygen, and blood pressure.

While a price tag of roughly $600 million can seem a bit steep, senior vice president of sales Evgeniy Andrachnikov can justify it.

“We do believe a market niche does exist in terms of an aircraft designed to carry a professional sports team,” Andrachnikov told CNBC. “For the most part all the clubs around the globe never travel by regular flights, they charter private jets. They travel a lot over long distances. They are getting injured and most hate to fly.”

The Russian Olympic Committee has already bought in, agreeing to make the SportJet the official aircraft of the Olympic team.

Ilya Tarasenko, president of Sukhoi stated in a press release, “We consider our becoming a part of the big Olympic family strategically important. Collaboration with the Russian Olympic Committee gives us new opportunities to promote the Sukhoi SuperJet brand and create a new best-in-class product: the SportJet by Sukhoi.”

With the NFL and NBA attempting to expand their brand into Europe, Sukhoi’s SuperJet seems like a no-brainer. After all, 27 of the 32 NFL franchises sit on Forbes’ 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams of 2016 so money shouldn’t be an issue. The NBA however is a separate issue as they currently have a deal with U.S. Delta Airlines to charter Boeing 757 jets.

For now, they are focusing on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where the jet will be on display for prospective buyers. The SportJet will go into production in 2017 for release the following year.