Ask Me Anything: Kelly Shea

Kelly Shea, who arranges luxury trips for Hollywood heavyweights and billionaires on the Forbes 400 list, is one of 77 agents in the world authorized to book upcoming Virgin Galactic space flights—yet even she can’t snag an upgrade to first class.
Next big travel trend?
Multigenerational travel. For people who have done well, it’s important for their family to see the places they’ve talked about.
Reclining your airplane seat—yes or no?
You have every right to recline your seat. But I never put my seat back during a meal.
How do travelers get upgraded to first class?
You never will. Businessmen getting all those frequent-flyer miles are using the upgrades.
Would you fly to space?
If I had an extra $250,000, I’d be going to India and Mongolia. It’s a lot of money. I would go, but not on the first flight. I’d go on the second. I’ve had a couple of clients here mulling it over for about six months. The problem is, in the very beginning, you could put down a fairly small deposit and pay the rest when it was time to fly. But those spaces are closed, so now you have to put up the whole $250,000.