Europe’s completion specialists are gearing up for what they believe will be a growing market for VIP conversions of next-generation commercial airliners, including the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787.
Jet Aviation is building a new hangar at its Basle completion and maintenance facility capable of handling the A380 and Boeing 747. The Swiss company expects a market of around 10 A380 corporate conversions over the next 10-15 years. “It depends on the economic situation,” says chief executive Heinz Kohli, “because much of the potential business is from oil-producing Gulf countries. If the oil price remains high, we see a good future.”
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) chairman August Henningsen broadly agrees, predicting an A380 VIP market of “one a year maximum over 10 years”. The company is “ready to go” once a customer asks for an A380 conversion, he says, adding: “We sense there is interest in the market and we are working on it.”
Airbus expects to sell five to 10 VIP A380s “maximum”, says Richard Gaona, vice-president, corporate jets. The company also expects to sell two to four A330/A340s a year, and has secured its first A330 VIP customer. “We are very close to an A380 VIP sale,” he says, but delivery is not expected before 2012.
However, LHT believes an A380 could enter VIP completion as early as 2008 if one of the existing Gulf airline customers decides to convert an aircraft already on order into a head-of-state transport.
Boeing Business Jets, meanwhile, has proposals for “more than a dozen” VIP 787s, mostly to customers in the Middle East, Europe and Russia. “We hope to announce a customer this year,” says president Steven Hill. There is also potential for a 747-8 VIP sale this year, he says.
The 787 is sold out, says Hill, and the first quotable slot for a VIP sale is in August 2012. The 747-8 is available in 2010. LHT says it is working on designs for a VIP 787.
Source: Flight International
