Creator to unveil hotel in the clouds

Feast your eyes on the latest idea for adventurous travellers - a vast, diamond-shaped floating hotel that could one day take you over Sydney Harbour, Uluru and around the world. It's called the Aircruise and it's the brainchild of UK-based designer Nick Talbot, who'll formally unveil his revolutionary concept at a tourism conference in Brisbane in July.

This vertical air ship - complete with penthouse, four duplex apartments, five smaller ones and glass viewing floors - will be lifted by hydrogen and propelled by solar power, leaving no carbon footprint. But it's not for those in a screaming hurry.



This 30-metre tall "clipper in the clouds'' will get along at a relatively leisurely 145k/h, meaning a travel time of 37 hours from London to New York. The emphasis is firmly on the luxurious journey and not the destination.

The Aircruise, which will carry a maximum of 100 passengers, will take off with the aid of four envelopes on the outside, each containing modular self-sealing bags. The design ensures safe flight even if there's a major tear in the external skin.



Technical plans have been drawn up for the air ship and Mr Talbot believes it's possible to build the craft. Mr Talbot will detail his concept at the Tourism Futures conference in Brisbane from July 5 to 7.

Conference convenor Tony Charters hopes his vision will inspire others to think outside the square about what travel might look like in the future.