Airline to sell Mini cars onboard

Latvia's airBaltic to sell Mini Coopers on board.

Airline passengers who fret if the rental car they've reserved online will be waiting when they land have no worries if they fly airBaltic.

Latvia's national carrier announced this week it's now selling cars on board - custom designed Mini Coopers, to be exact. 

This takes on board duty-free shopping to new heights, folks!

And, no, this is no joke.

The airline's CEO, Martin Gauss, said in a statement: “airBaltic is the world’s first airline to start selling cars on board. Naturally, we still believe that flying is smarter than driving whenever possible, and that is why we will offer the airBaltic Mini in a stylish aircraft livery, chosen by the most active of our 60 000-plus Facebook fans.”

This is how the car buying in the sky works: Passengers wishing to purchase the car, pay the equivalent of $60 CDN. to the airBaltic flight attendant and receive a voucher. After landing, the passenger visits www.airbalticshop.com and completes the purchase. Then he or she will receive a call from an airBaltic representative and be invited to see the real car, take a test drive, and then choose payment or leasing options.

The Mini Cooper R56 is valued at about $33,000 CDN and comes with a 1.6-litre, 120hp engine and an automatic transmission. The car will be available for purchase aboard all airBaltic flights from December 16, 2011 until January 15, 2012. See full specifications at http://www.airbalticshop.com/en/airbalticmini

In the past, the airBaltic was the first airline in the world to sell such items as shows and roses in flight.