MiGFlug GmbH is a Zurich, Switzerland-based Aviation and Space Adventure company specialized in fighter jet flights. The company was founded in 2004 by current CEO Philipp Schaer and Flavio Kaufmann. , offerings mainly included military jet trainer flights, historic fighter jet flights, and zero gravity flights, while in the past, MiGFlug also offered supersonic flights, edge of space flights, and suborbital space flights.

Company

Philipp Schaer is the current CEO of MiGFlug. He co-founded the company in 2004, with another student at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. They initially got the idea during a trip to Moscow, when bumping into a fighter pilot and convincing him to take them for a ride. A few days later that pilot smuggled them into a Russian airbase and took off with both of them. Later that year, the pair found a legal way to offer those flights in Russia using aircraft such as a

Sukhoi Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weath ...

and the then-fastest fighter jet ever built, the

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a Supersonic aircraft, supersonic Interceptor aircraft, interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the Flight airspeed record, fastest military aircraft to enter service ...

. The company is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and registered in the commercial register of

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. MiGFlug's main business is offering flights in military fighter jets for civilians, including

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

flights. It started with jet flights from

Ramenskoye Airport Zhukovsky (), formerly (and still occasionally) known as Ramenskoye () is an international airport, located in Moscow Oblast, Russia, southeast of central Moscow, in the city of Zhukovsky, a few kilometers south-east of the closed Bykovo Airp ...

, Russia. MiGFlug has been shown on

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

's ''Year of Adventures'' with

Ben Fogle Benjamin Myer Fogle (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV. Early life Fogle is the son of English actress Julia ...

, and broadcast on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. A number of notable passengers have flown in one of the company's fighter jets, including

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...

, Zoltán Báthory,

Joel Kinnaman Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman (; born 25 November 1979) is a Swedish-American actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in the 2010 Swedish film '' Easy Money'' and the ''Johan Falk'' crime series. Kinnaman is known internationally fo ...

Miss India Miss India may refer to: Beauty pageants * Femina Miss India, selects representatives to compete in Miss World ** Femina Miss India Bangalore ** Femina Miss India Delhi ** Femina Miss India South * Miss India Worldwide India, selects representa ...

2010

Manasvi Mamgai Manasvi Mamgai is an Indian actress, model, social worker and beauty pageant winner. She won the titles of Miss India Tourism International and Miss Tourism International 2008 and Femina Miss India 2010. She also represented India at Miss ...

TyDi TyDi (; born Tyson Illingworth, 31 May 1987) is an Australian DJ and record producer specializing in electronic dance music. Originally from Queensland, TyDi was signed by Armin van Buuren's Armada label at age 17 and was ranked No. 1 of ''J ...

, Josh Cartu, "Evil" Jared Hasselhoff,

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. His songs "Faded (Alan Walker song), Faded", "Sing Me to Sleep", "Alone (Alan Walker song), Alone", "All Falls Down (Alan Walker song), All Falls Down" (with Noah Cy ...

Jake Paul Jake Joseph Paul (born January 17, 1997) is an American Professional boxing, professional boxer, influencer and actor. He began his career posting videos on Vine (service), Vine in September 2013 and had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 bi ...

Klaas Heufer-Umlauf Klaas Heufer-Umlauf (born 22 September 1983 in Oldenburg (Oldenburg), Oldenburg) is a German television host, producer, actor and singer. He is best known as part of the duo Joko & Klaas, alongside Joko Winterscheidt. Biography Heufer-Umlauf i ...

Joko Winterscheidt Joachim "Joko" Winterscheidt (born 13 January 1979) is a German television host, producer and actor. He became known as part of the duo ''Joko & Klaas'' alongside Klaas Heufer-Umlauf in TV programs like ''Circus HalliGalli''. Winterscheidt grew ...

, Jan Marsalek,

Roberto Chevalier Roberto Chevalier Di Miceli (born 14 May 1952) is an Italian actor and voice actor who is best known for providing the Italian voice of Tom Cruise in most of his movies. Biography Born in Rome, Chevalier entered his profession as a child actor ...

and Pauline Nordin. Several of MiGFlug's jets and pilots have appeared in movies, TV, and advertisements. For example, an L-39 appeared in the 1997

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film ''

Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...

'' in the opening scene. MiGFlug has produced several Galileo episodes for

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

, as well as a zero gravity flight for '' Joko gegen Klaas''.

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

, OnePlus,

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

, and Swiss diary company

Emmi AG Emmi AG is a Swiss milk processor and dairy products company headquartered in Lucerne. The company employs a total of 12,000+ people in Europe (including Switzerland), North America (USA and Mexico), South America (Brazil and Chile) and North Afr ...

produced advertisements or

advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed pub ...

s with MiGFlug. MiGFlug's subsidiary GoAviator specializes in vintage flights, for example in

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 100 ...

s and

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

s. MiGFlug also has a popular

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

, covering aviation topics, with a focus on military aviation. Since 2015, MiGFlug has offered formation jet flights with up to six passengers flying at the same time in close formation in an L-39. In some locations MiGFlug also offers flights to customers in wheelchairs, who enter the L-39 jets with the help of a forklift.

Aircraft flown

Aircraft flown in the past

Jets offered from Ramenskoye Airbase near Moscow in Russia from 2004-2006 included

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

MiG-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is a ...

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

and the

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

. Through a cooperation with

Thunder City Thunder City was an aircraft operating and maintenance company based at the Cape Town International Airport in Cape Town, South Africa. It was well known for owning the largest civilian collection of former military jet aircraft in the world. Th ...

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, MiGFlug offered

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It is capable of a top speed above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured ...

and

Blackburn Buccaneer The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British aircraft carrier, carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough Aerodrome, Brough, it was later officially k ...

flights. MiGFlug also organized

T-38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: Aviation * Allison T38, an American turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, an American jet trainer aircraft * Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper, a British training glider Other uses * T38 (classification), a disabi ...

supersonic flights in the US for Galileo/

. From 2006-2009, MiGflug offered

Mikoyan MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the Soviet Air Forces by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares de ...

Foxhound flights and from 2006-2017

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Suk ...

Fulcrum flights from Sokol Airbase, in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

Spacecraft and zero gravity

Weightless flight offers include the Ilyushin

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

from Star City (Zvyozdny gorodok) near Moscow and a

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

in the United States, through a cooperation agreement with the

Zero Gravity Corporation Zero Gravity Corporation (also known as Zero-G) is an American company based in Exploration Park, Florida, formerly of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which operates weightlessness, weightless flights from United States airports. Zero-G is governed u ...

. MiGFlug also had an arrangement to offer future

sub-orbital spaceflight A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the surface of the primary (astronomy), gravitating body from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one orbital ...

s in the

XCOR Lynx The XCOR Lynx was a proposed suborbital horizontal-takeoff, horizontal-landing (HTHL), rocket-powered spaceplane that was under development by the California-based company XCOR Aerospace to compete in the emerging suborbital spaceflight mark ...

; Xcor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2017.

Planned future flights

According to monthly German aerobatic magazine ''FliegerRevue'', MiGFlug plans to offer stratosphere flights, or so-called "Edge of Space" flights once again, in both

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

and

aircraft to replace the MiG-29, which has no longer been available since late 2017.

Cancellation of Russian flight offers due to War in Ukraine

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, MiGFlug announced to stop all remaining offers in Russia and spend any profits made with Russian flights to support Ukraine.

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Zurich Swiss companies established in 2004 Aerospace companies Privately held companies of Switzerland