This Luxurious One-of-a-Kind Helicopter Is Like Flying in a Bentley
Flexjet’s helicopter ascends over Miami’s Opa-Locka executive airport for a beluga leather-cushioned ride across the Everglades. The one-of-a-kind Sikorsky S-76 soars 2,000 feet above Florida’s tropical wetlands with the elan of the limited-production Bentley Bacalar that inspired it.
The Cleveland-based private jet operator is elevating its sky appeal, pairing its ultra-long-range G650 with the six-seat chopper for “last-mile” connections between Flexjet’s growing set of private-airport terminals, and city centers like Midtown Manhattan or Naples, Florida.
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Together, Flexjet’s midsize S-76 and one-off Bentley-inspired Gulfstream G650 jet compose the Bacalar Project, a set of interiors inspired by the $1.9 million Bentley Bacalar open-top motorcar from the British automaker’s recently revamped Mulliner coach-builder.
The Sikorsky, which is part of the company’s new helicopter division, will visit seasonal bases in the Northeast and Florida to help provide seamless travel on otherwise complex routes, such as our 30-minute jaunt from Miami across the Sunshine State for lunch in Naples.
“Bentley thinks just like us,” Flexjet CEO Michael Silvestro told Robb Report before liftoff. “Their attention to detail with regard to the way that they outfit their cars is very similar to the way that we embarked on our Red Label program.” Beyond exclusive interior design, Red Label means that each jet has a dedicated crew to promote consistency.
A key difference between the car and the aircraft is that Flexjets’ helicopter is even more exclusive. Bentley built a dozen Bacalars for customers worldwide, including Flexjet Chairman Kenn Ricci, but Flexjet is giving only one of its choppers and one of its jets the Bentley treatment.
Boasting satin bronze fittings, copper-plated badging, and specialized veneer created to mimic the car’s 5,000-year-old reclaimed river-wood trim, the aircraft represent the world’s closest approximation to a flying Bentley. Both the Sikorsky and the Gulfstream forego Flexjet’s standard red-and-gold livery in favor of a silver-green chameleon treatment that pays homage to the Julep hue of Ricci’s own custom-built Bacalar.
Ricci worked with the design team at Mulliner to provide an on-board experience that differentiates Flexjet from its competitors in a crowded market.
In the map room at Flexjet’s Naples terminal, we feasted on Ruinart, Caviar Russe, and rich salads assembled table side by the company’s vice president of owner experience Francesco Vanerio.
Ricci poached the chef from Villa d’Este to create a more personalized food and beverage protocol, another example of Flexjet’s efforts to cater to its highest-net worth clients with bespoke service.
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