The world's first "street-level concept show room" offering a wide spectrum of new and used business jets and related services - such as aircraft management and maintenance providers - is poised to open its doors in London before the end of the year.
The venture - founded and funded by industry start up The Jet Business - is designed to raise the bar for the aircraft sales industry and will be mirrored in key business jet markets across the globe.
"Nobody has ever approached aircraft sales in this way before," says The Jet Business founder Steve Varsano.
"Hawker Beechcraft has a 'showroom' in London for its new aircraft products but this is an entirely different experience. The Jet Business will be a game-changer in the sales arena," he adds.
The showroom is designed to be "fully immersing and interactive", Varsano continues. The Jet Business houses a TV screen large enough to display the life-size design of a long-range business jet cabin such as a Gulfstream G550.
It also houses a life-size cabin mock-up of an Airbus ACJ319 complete with VIP interior. The specially designed database contains a library of all the business aircraft types, including technical information and real-time used aircraft availability.
"Our application [app] houses one of the most detailed and advanced collections of jet model information, including schematics, images, videos, product specification as well as brand history and information."
London was selected as its first location, Varsano says, because "it is a leading financial centre and a key aviation gateway which attracts wealthy people from across the globe".
"We were looking at the US initially but the anti business aviation climate there forced us to delay any opening until the market picks up and the negative perceptions associated with business aviation start to fade," he adds.
Meanwhile, The Jet Business is gearing up to open its next concept showroom in Beijing, China by early 2013. "Similar ventures are planned for Moscow and Dubai," says Varsano.
Source: Flight International
