French executive and wet-lease charter specialist Blue Line has taken delivery of a Boeing MD-83, configured in a 54-seat premium layout, a type which even it labels as an "unexpected executive airliner".
To satisfy demand growing demand for VIP charter services, the Paris Charles de Gaulle-based company will before the end of the year also take delivery of its first widebody aircraft, an Airbus A310-300, which it has secured on lease directly from Airbus.
Blue Line, which began operations in May 2002, says its all-business configured ex-Spanair MD-83 is able to perform up to 7h missions.
The forward part of the cabin is fitted with a premium, executive layout with six seats, which rotate, slide and fully recline. These are located around tables and this cabin section can be converted into a private bedroom with a double and a single lie-flat bed.
The mid-section is furnished with tables and eight seats that recline to a 150° angle. The same seats occupy the final cabin section, which is in a more typical, but luxurious, airline business-class layout.
The aircraft was delivered to Blue Line in April and redelivered in early November following the extensive revamp, which includes the new cabin and livery. Blue Line international development manager Pierre-Emmanuel Allard says the work represents a "very consequential investment".
The A310 will be retrofitted with a premium interior for entry into service by August next year. Allard declines to reveal details of the corporate configuration, as it is commercially sensitive, but adds: "It will be a low-density VIP configuration with fewer than 100 seats." Blue Line says it may add a second A310B "by the end of next year".
Source: Flight International
