Most people spend a few million customizing a private jet. Kim Kardashian spent $55 million. The result is a flying extension of her brand, her aesthetic, and — whether you find it inspired or absurd — her business strategy. When she fired up Kim Air in early 2025 and crossed the Atlantic to visit Lewis Hamilton in the UK, the jet itself became the story.
The Aircraft Behind the Headlines
Kardashian purchased her Gulfstream G650ER in 2022 for approximately $95 million. The G650ER is one of the most capable ultra-long-range jets in service. It flies at up to Mach 0.925, covers roughly 7,500 nautical miles without stopping, and operates at altitudes up to 51,000 feet, comfortably above commercial traffic and most weather systems. For a transatlantic trip from Los Angeles to London, it’s practically purpose-built.
After buying the airframe, she contracted an interior overhaul that added another $55 million to the bill, bringing the total to $150 million. That’s not a typo. And when you understand what that investment actually bought, it starts to make a different kind of sense.
What $55 Million in Customization Actually Looks Like
The standard G650ER cabin is already exceptional. Rich leather, executive seating, high-end cabinetry. It looks like a flying boardroom, which is exactly the point for most of its buyers. Kardashian wanted something completely different.
The entire interior follows a minimalist, monochromatic aesthetic that mirrors the design language of her SKIMS and SKKN brands. Light wood panels replace the dark tones typical of corporate aviation interiors. The ceilings, seats, and headrests are trimmed in cashmere. Even baggage compartments got the cashmere treatment. This isn’t texture for texture’s sake. It’s a coherent visual identity applied to every surface a passenger could see or touch.
Every seat has its own dedicated phone charger, a detail that sounds trivial until you’re 40,000 feet over the Atlantic and your battery is at 11%. Two private bathrooms round out an interior that prioritizes comfort at every turn.
The Rules of Boarding Kim Air
Kardashian’s attention to detail doesn’t stop at the walls. Passengers must wear SKIMS-branded slippers onboard. Spray tans are banned entirely. The cashmere throughout the cabin is the reason. A single transfer stain on a custom cashmere headrest isn’t a cleaning problem. It’s a replacement problem.
These protocols reveal something important about how seriously the aircraft’s condition is managed. In the fractional and charter world, operators enforce strict boarding and behavior policies to protect expensive interiors. Kardashian is applying the same logic to a personal aircraft — treating it the way a serious collector treats a Patek Philippe, maintained obsessively because the value, and the statement, depend on the condition remaining flawless. It’s a maintained asset in the most deliberate sense of the term.
Celebrity Branding at 45,000 Feet
The broader trend here matters more than any single detail. Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, and a growing list of ultra-high-net-worth individuals have transformed long-range aircraft from functional tools into physical representations of personal identity. The jet isn’t just transportation. It’s a statement that travels with them.
For celebrities with billion-dollar brand valuations, the investment calculus looks different than it does for a corporate executive or family office. Every appearance matters. Every image that circulates matters. A jet that reinforces your visual identity and generates media coverage every time you board it isn’t purely an expense. It’s marketing infrastructure.
The G650ER was the right platform for this. Its range lets Kardashian operate virtually anywhere without technical stops. Its cabin dimensions give an interior designer room to work. And its reputation as one of the elite aircraft in private aviation adds a baseline of prestige before a single modification is made.
What This Means for the Market
The ripple effect on bespoke aviation interiors is real. Completion centers that specialize in custom aircraft fit-outs have seen demand increase from ultra-high-net-worth clients who want their aircraft to reflect something personal rather than default to the standard catalog options. Lead times for high-specification completions have stretched as a result.
For buyers at this level, the conversation has shifted. It’s less about which aircraft to buy and more about what that aircraft should say. The G650ER is a common choice because it offers the range and airframe to justify the investment. But the interior? That’s entirely the owner’s canvas.
Kardashian’s transatlantic trip to see Hamilton, and the reported return journey together for the Super Bowl, put Kim Air back in circulation as a cultural talking point. Whether that was intentional or incidental almost doesn’t matter. The jet generates its own headlines now. At $150 million, it probably should.