Taylor Swift's Private Jet: Details About The $40m Dassault Falcon
Wildly successful musicians and private jets tend to go hand in hand. Elvis had one, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson pilots his own, and Taylor Swift has two. Swift's Dassault Falcon 900 is $40 million worth of luxury jet. Still, that's pocket change to Swift. She's arguably the world's most popular singer at the moment, with her Era's tour grossing close to $1 billion in 2023, and she'll potentially double that in 2024. That would make it the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Swift isn't the only one working hard on Eras. Her Dassault Falcon 900 has winged the "Blank Space" singer between several stops on the U.S. leg of the tour. Swift also seems to have a soft spot for Dassault's aircraft, as she also owns a Dassault Falcon 7X and previously owned a Dassault Falcon 50. The latter was sold back in 2020 with the funds going to charity, joining the growing list of Swift's beloved vehicles that have gone under the hammer for a good cause.
But the jet Swift really has a "Love Story" with is definitely the 900, which is her go-to for most trips. She may even be relying on the French aircraft a little too much if certain areas of her fanbase are to be believed. Here's what we know about Taylor Swift's main ride in the sky.
Taylor Swift's jet ID number contains Easter eggs
Air traffic is closely tracked for numerous reasons. Firstly, it's important to ensure planes aren't getting too close to one another as mid-air collisions are something everyone wants to avoid. Then there's the fact countries like to know what's going on within their airspace. As a result, each jet has a unique ID number. This allows the jet to identify itself and means authorities can quickly get information about the aircraft, who's on it, and who owns it.
Swift's jet ID (N898TS) is the billionaire's equivalent of a custom license plate; it contains a couple of references to the singer, namely her year of birth (1989) and her initials (TS). Separating the two is the number eight, which has a bit less meaning following her recent successes — but was pretty relevant back when she purchased the Falcon 900. She had a total of eight number ones at the time, but that number stands at 11 at the time of writing.
The nods to Swift and her career don't just stop at the jet ID. The aircraft itself has the number 13 painted on the side. That number apparently has a lot of meaning to Swift, who in contrast with standard superstitions considers it lucky. She's been known to play gigs with 13 painted on her hand, she was born on Friday the 13th, turned 13 on Friday the 13th, and her first album went gold in 13 weeks. Her company is also called 13 Management.
What the Dassault Falcon 900 is capable of
The Dassault 900 isn't a particularly new jet design, having first taken to the air in the 1980s. Still, there are a few reasons that the French aircraft has been a go-to for private flyers over the past four decades. The jet itself is a follow-on from the popular Falcon 50 — though it's a little more spacious. The 900 is designed to carry between 12 and 14 passengers, four to six more than the Falcon 50's eight. At a push, 19 people can be seated inside the jet, so there's plenty of room for Swift and the inner circle of her entourage. The hold can handle around 18 average-sized bags, and the total interior space is a comfortable 1,267 cubic feet.
In total, around 160 Falcon 900s and 900Bs were made, with the last of them being delivered back in 1991. A top speed of 552 mph means traveling musicians can certainly make it to their destinations swiftly. With a 4,428-mile range, international trips are also possible and the jet can go between any two points in the continental U.S. quite comfortably. The combination of comfort, speed, range, and a reputation built over decades makes this a solid choice of private aircraft.
Swift's Falcon 900 has luxurious features
While no photographs of Swift's personal plane are publicly available, Dassault's website has a 3D tour of the 900LX model showing reclining leather seats with work tables as well as a couch underneath the cabin's starboard side windows.
The Falcon 900 has some special luxury appointments to make Swift's travels more comfortable. The 12-passenger cabin has a fully equipped kitchen as well as a bathroom with a shower, and Swift's Falcon 900 also reportedly includes a private bedroom so she can get some quality shut-eye between gigs.
The jet is powered by three Honeywell TFE731-60 engines, which give it a range of 4,750 nautical miles, a maximum flying altitude of 51,000 feet, and a top speed of 87% of the speed of sound, which equates to about 667.5 mph. The Falcon 900 also features Dassault's state-of-the-art FalconEye vision assist system, which allows pilots to see better at night and in foul weather conditions.
She's faced criticism for how often she allegedly uses her private jets
Swift has used her private jet extensively during the first year of her Eras tour. While it may make sense to use a jet you own to travel between cities you're performing in, the choice isn't sitting well with some of her fans. According to reports that surfaced in August, Swift's jet spent around 166 hours in the air during the first half of 2023. The time was split over 166 flights, which is close to one per day. This isn't a new development either, with data from 2022 suggesting one of her jets, the Dassault 7X, was responsible for about 1,200 times the average person's CO2 output that year.
Apparently, Swift lets friends and family use her jet quite regularly — so not all of the travel was her doing. A quote given to Business Insider also suggests that Swift is spending big to offset her jet's carbon emissions. The spokesperson said: "Before the tour kicked off in March of 2023, Taylor purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset all tour travel." Swift's 2022 flights emitted about 8,293.54 tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
If 2023 was similar, and the first six months of flights suggest it was, the singer probably parted with a significant amount of cash to offset it. With carbon credits costing between $40 and $80 per ton, and Swift allegedly buying double her output, she could be spending well over a million dollars per year to help offset her private jet use. Still, despite the donations, there's a chance Swift's love of private air travel could cause some "Bad Blood" between her and the Swifties.