Johnny Depp flies on private planes so he can smoke.

The 'Rum Diary' star prefers to travel in his own personal aircraft so he can indulge his habit and he also hates using public airlines because he becomes "novelty boy" who other passengers want to stare at.

He said: "On a private plane you can smoke. It makes it an incredibly expensive habit or course, because you can only smoke on a private plane.

"The commercial flight thing, it just gets a little weird when you're standing in line and suddenly you're not just a guy standing in line any more, you become sort of novelty boy."

The 48-year-old actor gave up smoking for two-and-a-half years and only took the habit back up after working on 'The Rum Diary' with Bruce Robinson, with the director turning to alcohol after several years of sobriety when making the film, which is based on the semi-autobiographical by late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Speaking about taking up smoking again, Johnny told The Guardian newspaper: "It was the gift we gave each other.

"One Bang On Bruce's horrible little Cafe Creme cigar. One bang - yeah one hit and it was over. I just said, 'Come on, give me a bang.'

"Bruce and I were on the plane and I just said, 'Oh come on.' You know, we'd had a bit to drink, and..."