The days when the airline would help you light up.

The Gadling is reporting that entrepreneur Alexander Schoppmann is hoping to start a smoking-only airline. Schoppmann is currently looking for capital to start Smintair (which stands for Smoker’s International Airways).

The new airline is not looking to cater to the average working Joe, but to people with some extra cash. The airline will only have First and Business class. The airline is planning to have two Boeing 747’s flying from Europe to Japan. The concept is to have no seats on the upper deck and for it to be a lounge. New ventilation systems would be installed on the aircraft allowing for better fresh air recirculation on the smoke-filled flights. Schoppmann is hoping to have the airline up and running by next summer.

Can this concept work?  Maybe. There is a much larger smoking population in Germany and Japan than in the US. Also, with the economic crunch a lot of companies are cutting out their business jets and this might provide a cheaper alternative. It would be like an exclusive country club in the air and probably big business deals could take place in mid-flight. It will be interesting to see if Smintair will ever take off — other sites were reporting the first flight was supposed to be December 2007, so we will have to wait and see!