Fly the friendly skies - in a zeppelin
A new tour business offers rides aboard one of the world's three zeppelins.
(Fortune Small Business) -- There's a new way to fly the friendly skies over San Francisco: the Airship Ventures Zeppelin NT.
"We had to call up the FAA and say, 'You probably need to regulate us, but you don't have any Zeppelin regulations on the books,' " says Alexandra Hall, the former CEO of the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland.
Hall was inspired to start a Zeppelin tour business after her husband, Brian, scored a ride on one of the airships in Germany. In March 2007 the couple reserved their own $15 million Zeppelin NT (they've raised $8 million from investors, including tech guru Esther Dyson) and arranged its transport from Germany.
The airship arrived in San Francisco last week, and this month it is scheduled to begin ferrying tourists and corporate junketeers between Silicon Valley and San Francisco, and around Napa Valley. The ride isn't cheap, however: Passengers pay $500 an hour to float on the 246-foot-long air boat, which can reach a speed of 78 mph.
"In Germany they've been flying tourists for seven years with no marketing, and they're closed from December to March. So we figured if they could be profitable, we could do pretty well," says Alexandra, who projects annual revenues of $9 million and is already planning expansions into two other markets. 
-
The Cheesecake Factory created smaller portions to survive the downturn. Play -
A breeder of award-winning marijuana seeds is following the money and heading to the U.S. More -
Most small businesses die within five years, but Amish businesses have a survival rate north of 90%. More -
The 10 most popular franchise brands over the past decade -- and their failure rates. More -
These firms are the last left in America making iconic products now in their twilight. More
My dream is to launch my own business someday. Now that it's time to choose a major, I'm debating if I should major in entrepreneurial studies or major in engineering to acquire a set of skills first. Is majoring in entrepreneurship a good choice? More
When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
More Small Business
