This just in from FlyCorporate:

Airbus’ Corporate Jet Centre (ACJC) in Toulouse has completed its first cabin outfitting, a VIP interior for the Airbus A320 of a private customer.
The VIP A320 features a luxurious interior with a VIP lounge, business-class seating and an area for support staff.
In addition to outfitting the cabin, ACJC also completed extensive maintenance work on the aircraft, highlighting its ability to provide a variety of technical services to customers.

In the Wall Street Journal article Demand Soars for Firms That Fit Out Private Jets, reporters Susan Carey and J. Lynn Lunsford describe how in recent years the interest in turning big private jets into flying “palaces” has surged.

We were excited to see prominent references to the sponsor of this blog, Greenpoint Technologies and quotes from GTI’s fearless leader Jon Buccola:

“We have more work than we can handle,” says Jon Buccola, chief executive officer of outfitter Greenpoint Technologies Inc. of Kirkland, Wash. Greenpoint, which specializes in interiors on new Boeing 737 business jets, has won $100 million in new business since the start of the year and is talking to a potential client who won’t even get his or her new aircraft until 2014, he says.

Which is certainly what The Age thinks.

According to their story, Abercrombie and Kent is flying a collection of deep-pocketed Americans around on a world tour in a private chartered jet—a 757-200. If you need inspiration for doing luxury interiors, check out what this thing sports:

The plane, on loan with its pilots and cabin crew from Icelandic Air, can carry 230 economy passengers, but Abercrombie and Kent have gutted it and replaced the sardine configuration with one more appropriate for such an expensive trip.

Fifty-two leather seats with enough leg room for everyone are separated by small mahogany tray tables. There are plain cloth economy seats on the plane, but they are reserved for cabin crew.

There is also, at the back of the plane, a four-table lounge area where guests can eat dinner or drink French champagne and expensive brandies as the world slips by beneath them.

The 25-day trip costs only $77,750 dollars. Sign me up! Now where did I leave my wallet…

The February 2008 issue of Architectural Digest profiles the conversion of a former Pan Am 727-100 into what the article calls “the quietest, smoothest, most functional, most comfortable penthouse-on-wings in existence”.

The article focuses on the virtues of having a truly big business jet:

“There’s something about a wide-body plane with 1,000 square feet of floor space that’s addictive, and I just didn’t feel like flying in a little tube of 300 square feet anymore. With my G5,” he elaborates, “I would never think of inviting more than a few guests, what with the narrow, cramped cabin and low ceiling, not to mention the lack of proper bed and bath—when someone walked by you to go to the john, it would wake you up.”

His Boeing, in sharp contrast, offers four discrete areas of privacy and sleeps 10 in high comfort. “Everyone is always excited to get back on the ship, no matter how much fun they’ve been having wherever we were, because when you can fly this way—and the same thing often gets said about life itself—it’s not the destination that counts, it’s the journey.” No wonder the owner, for all that he has houses in Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Malibu, Aspen, Saint-Tropez, and the French Alps, spends roughly (make that smoothly) three months a year traveling on his plane.

While we certainly like big, one advantage of a G5 is that you can buy one new and not have to deal with a painstaking conversion. Of course buying a new BBJ provides the best of both worlds…

Greenpoint Technologies unveiled their “SkyHome 2010″ concept design at the NBAA show in Atlanta. The design is intended to represent “the latest concept in ultra-luxury real estate, a live-aboard yacht in the sky.”

We hope to have some images to post very soon. Greenpoint’s Creative Director, Greg Vander Houwen made this statement:

“After listening to our clients we found that they were spending much more time on their private aircraft. They requested features that mirrored the functionality they expected in their home. In essence, the SkyHome 2010 concept was an exercise in design for an aero-centric lifestyle. Many of our clients have many homes around the world and they live in their planes as well. We included features like a walk-in wine cellar or humidor, a garage for the ‘toys’ and huge closet/storage space as uses of the Dreamliner’s lower deck. With just under 4,000 square feet of usable space, the SkyHome 2010 design is comparable to a Central Park penthouse except this penthouse can travel at Mach .85 and the views at 43,000 feet are just fantastic. ”

According to Air Safety Week (paid subscription required), the FAA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend interior standards for private airplanes.

The new standards would apply to large business jets, but not commercial transports operated by air carriers, and include changes on flammability, interior handholds, signage, and fire prevention equipment.

Since large business jets have highly customized interiors, certification costs can be quite extensive.

The article states:

“…the FAA has tentatively determined that a small reduction in risk is acceptable for the private-use airplanes because of their limited passenger capacities, the minimal flight hours, and the passengers’ familiarity with the airplane.’”

In the flightglobal article Capacity shortage could cramp VIP widebody style, the increasing number of Boeing 747-8s and 787s, Airbus A330s, A340s, even an A380 being sold to the VIP market may tax the capacity of current completions centres.

Boeing Business Jet president Steve Hill says that steep growth in the number of people with very high levels of personal wealth is driving up demand for VIP aircraft. “At the moment there is enough completions capacity, but I worry about 2010 and beyond.

The May 2007 issue of Boeing Frontiers Magazine features an article detailing how the Seattle-based Derivative Airplane Programs (DAP) division, along with Greenpoint Technologies converted an off-the-shelf 737 Boeing Business Jet into a military aircraft destined for the U.S. Air Force 932nd and 375th Airlift Wing.

The C-40C is an aircraft with unique requirements. This specific model has carried U.S. government dignitaries such as the First Lady, the Secretary of State and the Speaker of the House. Some of the modifications required were:

• Extend the BBJ’s range to more than 4,400 nautical miles (5,100 statute miles.)
• Revamp the cargo bay where suitcases would normally go to house racks of sophisticated satellite communications equipment and other hardware.
• Integrate military avionics into the flight deck and add informal meeting areas, crew seating and an office support station.

Some innovate approaches were required, and they resulted in subsequent efficiencies:

One example: the C-40C’s custom galleys, or kitchen units, which wouldn’t fit through the cabin doors. The team figured out a way to cut them in two and then reassemble them inside. On the second airplane, however, they went one better and performed all the prep work in advance, adding custom brackets and modifying floor panels before taking the two halves on board. This shaved hours off installation time.

The requirements were challenging for all three parties involved: DAP engineering, subcontractor Greenpoint Technologies Inc. (which did the interior layout)and the mod crew…In working on the second C-40C, the team again applied lessons learned. On this process, they saved a fourth of the hours expended on the first aircraft. In fact, as this article goes to press, the crew is nine days ahead of schedule on modification of the second aircraft.

For the wiring, they developed a failsafe process for tracking those sections that had (and hadn’t) been tested for electrical continuity, and another for red-lining the schematics in areas that required deviation from the original wiring plan. They also figured out a system for assuring operator signoff on sections that had been completed. All told, these critical quality-assurance procedures took three weeks on the first airplane—but a mere five days on the second.

The bottom line, a sucessful project and a happy customer:
…the DAP team sensed they’d gotten the customer-focus thing right. “You are an outstanding group of people … who understands what the customer needs,” said Col. Maryanne Miller, wing commander of the 932nd. “You have given us everything we asked for.”

Just received this release (below) from our partners at Greenpoint Technologies (GTI.) Greenpoint recently completed interior modifications for a single Air Force Boeing BBJ and is set to provide two more similar completions later this year.

For more information or to inquire about services Greenpoint offers, contact Christine Hadley (chadley AT greenpnt.com.)

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Christine Hadley
Tel: (425) 828-2777 ext. 7154
Fax: (425) 827-6105
Email: chadley AT greenpnt.com

GTI is an experienced Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) Completion Center which provides VIP aircraft interiors for Boeing airplanes. GTI incorporates in-house capabilities of interior design, engineering, program management, and certification for aircraft interior installations and modifications. Established in 1988, GTI has a history of VIP completions for multiple heads-of-state, leading corporations, and private individuals. Driven by its nimble customer-focused culture, GTI’s strategic goals incorporate quality, commitment, and craftsmanship into every completion.
Greenpoint Technologies, Inc.
4600 Carillon Point
Kirkland, WA 98033
Tel.: (425) 828-2777
Fax: (425) 828-6105
www.greenpnt.com
###

In the March/April 2007 issue of Dealmaker magazine, (registration required) reporter Robert Goyer puts forth a glowing review of the Boeing family of business jets. He also outlines some of the key reasons a big business jet can provide much more than just transport to their operators.
According to the piece, the BBJ provides “the sweet spot of being big enough to offer luxurious accommodations while still affording its passengers the kind of globetrotting power that only an ultra-long-range airplane can provide.”

The flexibility of the BBJ is a key advantage:

“Want to outfit your airborne abode with bedrooms, boardrooms, open seating areas, expansive galleys and multiple bathrooms with full showers? Of course you do. You’re a player, not an animal. Well, with the BBJ3, you can. Indeed, it offers the kind of flexibility that smaller, purpose-design private jets from Gulfstream, Dassault and Bombardier are simply unable to match…the interiors of these 737-based bizjets are so luxurious, you just might forget you’re flying — so a few extra minutes in the cabin might actually be a good thing.”

(BTW, we’d be remiss if we didn’t remind our readers that interior customization is the principal service our partner Greenpoint Technologies provides to BBJ buyers.)

Also the BBJ’s extended range is essential:

“Thanks to the incorporation of as many as eight auxiliary fuel tanks, the BBJ3 also has a maximum range (with eight passengers) of 5,475 nautical miles, meaning that when fully fueled, it can fly just about anywhere in the world with a single stop.”

One of the critical benefits we hear from Greenpoint clients regarding BBJ ownership is that the plane can serve as a flying boardroom – which serves them well for working/closing deals internationally. This is echoed in the article:

“Instead, they make the jet itself the destination, using its meeting rooms as an ultra-high-end roving office complete with high-speed Internet, networked cabin systems and fine dining right there on site. Thus, if flying to Milan just to close your deal on the tarmac before turning around and flying out sounds incredibly efficient, albeit culturally unfortunate, this is the plane for you.”

Interior space specs:
Original BBJ: 807 square feet.
BBJ2: 1,004 square feet.
BBJ3: 1,120 square feet.

Some intriguing market-related information is also included:

“There is, after all, a reason why private individuals — led by those in the financial community — constitute 43 percent of BBJ customers. (Heads of state make up around 35 percent of buyers, with the rest split between corporations and charters.)”