Miami-based businessman becomes first to fly Etihad’s flying hotel suite

ABU DHABI. KAZINORM - Meet Gino Bertuccio, the Miami-based businessman who's purchased a spot in aviation history with the first ticket to fly Etihad Airways' over-the-top, onboard hotel suite.

photo: QAZINFORM

On December 27, Bertuccio will board the carrier's inaugural A380 flight from Abu Dhabi to London and be the first flyer to experience the world's only private, three-room suite aboard a commercial aircraft. The Residence features a living room, a double bedroom and an ensuite shower and comes with a Savoy Academy-trained butler. Bertuccio is a millionaire who heads a personal hygiene and cosmetics company, and an aviation buff, making him the ideal guest of The Residence, a game-changer in luxury air travel. In 25 years, the Miami resident has flown on 22 inaugural -- and final -- flights in premium class cabins, and he owns a collection of airline memorabilia that includes 2,000 model airplanes. In 2011, he was also one of the first passengers to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the world's first carbon-composite airliner, with All Nippon Airways (ANA), according to Euronews. "For the first time in my flying experience, I really don't know what to expect but I do know that flying in the Residence by Etihad will be a truly unique adventure, the top of luxury," he said in a statement. "I have huge expectations. My only wish is that the flight was longer."