http://thechronicleherald.ca/Entertainment/840645.html Published: 2007-06-10 Cruise, Holmes go one up with his & hers private jets By JOHN HARLOW The Sunday Times LONDON - Some couples have separate beds or bathrooms. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Cruise have separate jets, casting a Hollywood spotlight on the increasing number of super-rich for whom one private plane is simply not enough. Cruise, who flies his own Gulfstream and two other planes, has arranged for his actress wife Katie Holmes to enjoy her own jet when she is away from their home in Beverly Hills. Until recently he has insisted on personally flying Holmes to work, a 1,500-mile trip to Louisiana where she has been filming a comedy called, appropriately enough, Mad Money. Now a second jet is parked alongside Cruise?s more lavishly equipped Gulfstream IV at a small Los Angeles airport. As if to prove that the rich are different, and Hollywood stars especially so, the 28-year-old Holmes has told friends that she uses the jet only when Cruise, 44, is away or has lent his Gulfstream to friends such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. "It?s like a bus, only quicker," Holmes said. Many rich Americans agree. The number of private jet owners in the United States has doubled to more than 50,000 in 10 years, boosted in part by the hijackings of Sept. 11, 2001 and the subsequent security crackdown endured by ordinary airline passengers. For Cruise, who made his name as a cocky navy pilot in Top Gun eight years before he obtained his pilot?s licence in 1994, planes are a passion. He is expected to celebrate his 45th birthday next month by spending US$3.6 million on a Second World War P-51 single-seat fighter. The actor is far from alone in his indulgence: "His and hers jets are still rare, but they are the coming thing among the top 1," said an executive at NetJets, which claims many celebrity clients. Not everyone thinks it is a healthy trend. John Fairchild, a social columnist, has attacked such extravagance: "The question I have is: what does she do in hers while he?s in his? And are they both flying alone?" ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".