Ed Sheeran may be one of the world’s biggest artists and have an estimated net worth of $350 million, but he has admitted that he is not a fan of private jets, and would rather use budget airlines instead.
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And before you think that the 34-year-old star is flying commercial in a bid to save cash, Ed’s reasoning is much more noble: he cares about the environment.
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Ed opened during his recent appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast, where he revealed he recently flew home from a European show on a plane full of fans who had attended the gig. It all started when Louis brought up an old news story about Ed inadvertently getting caught up with a group of young men on their way back from a “lads’ trip,” with the host asking: “How are you with public transport? You probably wouldn’t…”
But before Louis could finish his sentence, Ed interjected: “Love it.”
When Louis mentioned the past report, Ed said: “Oh yeah, that was 10 years ago. That was bad. I was flying back on a Sunday night with all the lads who’d just been on a lads’ trip. That was bad.”
Pressed on why it was a bad experience, the singer continued: “I was on my own, so this was pre-security. I was on my own, I was on a hangover, as well… I was working on, like, two hours sleep. I was planning on crashing out on the plane, and then, suddenly, there was, like, 50 lads all very excited.”
“There was one recently, though, my wife works in sustainability, so we try and fly completely normally as much as possible,” Ed went on. “We were flying back on RyanAir, I think, from a gig in Italy that I was doing last year, but all my fans who’d been at the gig were flying back on the same flight.”
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For reference, RyanAir is an Irish ultra-low-cost airline that offers return flights across Europe for less than $50, and has no separate class cabins.
“Stop it,” Louis exclaimed in response. “Aren’t you private jet all the way?”
“No,” Ed replied. “I’ll do it very, very rarely, and only if it’s work; if I’m doing a thing in Germany and I have to be in LA the next day.”
“You don’t have a private jet?” Louis asked in disbelief, and when Ed confirmed that he doesn’t because he prefers trains, Louis exclaimed: “You could afford one!”
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“Yeah, but it’s not really about that,” Ed explained. “I like the environment. I like trees. I don’t know, I find it hard to justify. I’m not saying, like… No one’s perfect. I have [used a private jet], when we are doing intense promo trips, there’ll be the odd time. But I’m very much: ‘We do trains,’ or I’m flying to Mexico tomorrow on BA [British Airways] kind of thing.”
“But you said Ryanair, that’s all one class, isn’t it?” Louis then asked, and Ed said that it was before sharing an anecdote about how awkward flying in economy class can be for him — especially when he is with his and wife Cherry’s two children, 4-year-old Lyra and 3-year-old Jupiter.
“I had my kids, and one of them had fallen asleep on me and pissed on me, and this person came up and was like: ‘Can I have a selfie, mate?’” Ed recalled. “And I was like: ‘Probably not… probably not the time.’”
Needless to say, Ed’s comments are super refreshing at a time when other celebs are attracting criticism for their excessive private jet use, including so-called “climate criminal” Kylie Jenner, and his bestie Taylor Swift. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify and all podcast platforms.
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