If the credentials of its founder are any indication, this air carrier is gonna rock.
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, who became a commercial pilot 20 years ago, may soon front his very own airline, the Telegraph reports.
Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance business in Wales that Dickinson recently bought, is seeking clearance for takeoff from the Civil Aviation Authority. The heavy metal legend and his business partner Mario Fulgoni plan to start with three private jets, Dickinson explained. They already bought a flight simulator to slash pilot-training costs, the Telegraph reports.
“Subject to approvals, we’ll be in the air within the next 50 days,” Dickinson told the paper. “Clearly that fits with the maintenance -- both operations need each other.”
Dickinson has juggled rock 'n' roll and flying for decades -- he even flew the band around. For more on Dickinson's latest venture, visit the Telegraph.
MSN had some fun, calling the aviation endeavor "fitting for a man whose voice has often been favorably compared to an air-raid siren."
But Dickinson's airline aspirations are no pie-in-the-sky chatter. In 2011, after he lost his 757-piloting job with Astraeus Airlines when the carrier folded, he said was aiming to get his own airline off the ground.
At age 54, he's not too old to rock, either. Iron Maiden, which Dickinson joined in 1982 and helped propel to more than 80 million album sales, recently departed on another world tour.
Back in 2007, Dickinson told CNN he was inspired to fly by relatives who were in the Royal Air Force but didn't feel he had the right stuff. "And then our drummer learned to fly, so I said if a drummer can learn to fly, then anyone can," he said.