Introductions of new business jets and executive airliners, robust preowned transaction activity, and downtime associated with avionics installations are among the factors driving an uptick in demand for cabin completions and aftermarket upgrades.
“The market for completions and refurbishments is picking up,” said AMAC Aerospace COO Bernd Schramm at Geneva’s EBACE show in May. U.S. MRO Constant Aviation has “never seen as many quotes go out as over the past eight months,” said v-p for interiors Scott McCool, while Lufthansa Technik senior director of sales for VIP and special-mission aircraft Wieland Timm averred, “We think there’s a huge opportunity for the total VIP community.”
AT THE COMPLETION CENTERS
Basel-based VIP airliner specialist AMAC Aerospace has in completion the first Airbus ACJ320neo (with an Alberto Pinto interior design for the UK’s Acropolis Aviation) and a Boeing 747-8. The 19-passenger neo’s master bedroom suite will include a large shower, a de rigeur feature in today’s bizliners. For the 747-8, full-scale Styrofoam mockups of the interior components have been created to provide a sense of scale for refining the widebody’s interior design.
Two BBJ Maxes—AMAC’s first—are inbound for completions: a Max 8 arriving this fall for a “cozy, homey” interior design installation; and a Max 9, with an open, modular cabin conceived by interior designer Gaugain, slated for mid-2020 induction, said Schramm.
Having received Bombardier authorized service center approval a year ago, the Swiss company has begun construction of Hangar 5, dedicated to Bombardier MRO and refurbishments, at its Basel base, with completion expected in mid-2020. The low-slung, 54,000-sq-ft facility can accommodate up to eight Globals and Challengers simultaneously.
VIP airliner specialist Comlux Completion in May marked delivery of its first VIP widebody completion—an A330—following the March induction of the first of three ACJ320neos slated for completions. Last December a Max 8—the first BBJ Max—arrived for completion, the interior designed by Peter Marino Architect.
Comlux executive chairman and CEO Richard Gaona cited the widebody project as the “perfect example” of synergies within the Swiss company’s divisions, noting in addition to design and completion, they handled all other aspects of the aircraft’s acquisition, subsequent sale and, now, operation via its AOC registry in Aruba. (Comlux also has AOCs from Malta, Switzerland, San Marino, and Kazakhstan; Gaona cited a client confidentiality agreement in declining to provide images of the A330’s interior.)
Nature’s Touch by Lufthansa Technik
Gaona said widebody completions are much more challenging than those for single-aisle models, particularly in meeting certification standards such as cabin decompression requirements. With three times the interior space, widebodies also require some three times the man-hours and twice the lead time of a single-aisle VIP airliner completion.
Under Comlux Completion’s new management team of CEO Daron Dryer and executive v-p Domingo Ureña-Raso, the purpose-built completion center in Indianapolis, Indiana, appears intent on moving aggressively into competition for next-generation VIP widebodies, including the ACJ350 XWB and BBJ777X.
Germany’s Lufthansa Technik (LHT) this year introduced two new VIP airliner interior concepts: the first, “Nature’s Touch,” an East-meets-West theme created with China’s Ameco for the ACJ320 or BBJ; and the second, “Sky Retreat,” in anticipation of a yet-to-be-offered ACJ220.
Nature’s Touch, unveiled at Shanghai’s ABACE show in April, employs traditional Chinese colors, complementing bamboo and other natural materials including marble, leather, wool, and silk. Interior features include a gourmet galley and cinema with a 75-inch roll-up/down screen.
LHT offered a sneak peak of SkyRetreat, its VIP A220 concept, at EBACE in May. The stripped down, “unconventional design” resembles the cabin of a yacht more than that of a VIP airliner, and incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as a voice-controlled CMS and “smart touch” surfaces. A dining table “looks normal but can transform into a chessboard, or a monitor for PowerPoint presentations, or a dining table,” said Timm, adding that the A220 “provides an incredible amount of space for breathtaking VIP interiors.” A “totally unique” Observation Lounge awaits SkyRetreat’s full reveal at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
The two single-aisle VIP cabin concepts follow LHT’s Welcome Home cabin concept for the forthcoming jumbo ACJ350 XWB, unveiled at the last year’s NBAA Convention, and reflects an increase in completions demand. “We have signed several contracts for new narrow-body and as well as widebody aircraft,” the latter including the ACJ350 XWB, A330neo, and BBJ 787 and 777X, said Timm, who projects the coming VIP completion market to grow to about four wide- and eight narrow-body green completions annually.
Switzerland’s Jet Aviation and ACA Advanced Computer Art created for Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) a 3D video of the Swiss company’s Shaheen VIP cabin concept for the new BBJ 777X, unveiled in December in concert with the aircraft’s introduction at MEBAA. BBJ debuted the video, along with a virtual reality display of the interior at EBACE in May, enabling guests to get an inside experience of the cabin.
Taking advantage of the BBJ 777X’s size, the Shaheen cabin features lounges, a game and cinema area, stately office, private workspaces, three guest bedrooms, and a master suite. Weight and space savings are optimized through fiber optics and technology-integrated furniture, as well as intelligent LED and OLED lighting and Smart Glass technology. Jet Aviation’s last five projects were, on average, 9 percent lighter than requirements, said Jeremie Caillet, v-p of VIP completion programs. “Lighter interiors allow customers to either reduce their carbon footprint for a set mission or increase their payload or additional range,” he noted.
The Basel-based company’s large-aircraft team is currently performing an extensive refurbishment on a VIP widebody and recently re-delivered a new VVIP-configured aircraft, both models and customers undisclosed.
Citadel Completions, having launched in March 2018, is “positioning [itself] to be ready for the market when an upswing comes,” said managing director Joe Bonita, and the company anticipates that uptick “in the next two to three years.” Based at Louisiana’s Chennault International Airport, Citadel’s facilities include two hangars totaling some 260,000 sq ft, one able to house two 747s simultaneously, Bonita said. At MEBAA last December Citadel showcased by invitation a VIP ACJ340-500 that displays the company’s interior design, completions and refurbishment capabilities, the cabin featuring expansive open areas and some seven private sleeping areas. The aircraft owner, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and the Adelson family, who commissioned the refurbishment from the facility under its previous owners, subsequently bought the completion complex.
Citadel owns the STCs developed for the A340’s refurbishment and “if [buyers] like that floor plan, a completion could be done in the same plan very quickly,” Bonita said, noting Airbus is due to receive several A340s back from lease that will be available for VIP retrofits. The platform boasts globe-girdling range combined with excellent runway performance. “Studies we did show there are very few airports this airplane can’t get into that BBJs or other executive airliners can get into,” Bonita said.
Boeing widebody completion specialist Greenpoint Technologies has introduced the Lotus interior, a Boeing-commissioned head-of-state interior design concept for the BBJ 777X. Inspired by the flower that holds special spiritual significance in the East, Lotus incorporates celestial and organic elements from Asia-Pacific cultures to create “a contemporary, functional design featuring the luxuries of a world class hotel.” Features include a grand, circular entry way, elevated lounge, sunken media area, backlit bar, a library with an OLED screen fireplace, and a layered ceiling with adjustable LED starry night scene. The en suite bath in the master suite has heated black marble flooring, towel warmers, and black marble vanity with imbedded monitor. Materials and fabrics include American walnut, Calcutta Gold marble, chrome, white embossed leather, and silk and Italian woven wool carpeting.
Aeria Luxury Interiors has two B737s in house, one for a head-of-state completion and one undergoing a full executive refurbishment, with interiors both developed by the San Antonio, Texas company’s in-house design team in consultation with the owners. The head-of-state project, for a customer in Central Asia, has a VIP stateroom and full-shower lav, along with office/meeting room, staff seating, and separate crew and passenger galleys and lavs. Luxury touches include gold plating, ornate detailing, fine wood and luxurious fabrics. Elements of the new Boeing Sky peripheral system are incorporated, as is the latest version of the Astronics CCC CMS/ IFE system. Inducted in May 2018, delivery is scheduled for December, but Aeria expects to deliver the aircraft “much earlier,” said v-p and GM Ron Soret.
Meanwhile, the cabin refurbishment, performed for a Los Angeles-based charter operator, incorporates a range of enhancements including all new wood surfaces, seat and interior panel re-upholstery, faux wood flooring, new carpets, and a partial reconfiguration of the aft cabin. At press time, delivery was scheduled in June.
Aloft AeroArchitects ended 2018 with the delivery to a private company in Asia of a new BBJ2 with an Edése Doret-designed interior incorporating an Astronics CMS and Honeywell Ka-Band connectivity. The Delaware-based company is now refurbishing a BBJ on which it installed the existing interior 12 years ago. The new cabin, by Warja Borges of Germany’s Unique Aircraft, is being installed in conjunction with the execliner’s 12-year check and landing gear overhaul.
OEM INTERIORS
Boeing Business Jets introduced at MEBAA 2018 the newest member of its family, the BBJ 777X. Able to fly more than halfway around the world, the widebody BBJ “redefines ultra-long-range VIP travel,” said Greg Laxton, head of BBJ.
The BBJ 777X will be available in two models: The BBJ 777-8 and BBJ 777-9 and features the tallest and widest executive airliner cabin. It incorporates the Smooth Ride technology developed for the 787, which takes pressure readings from the pitot and static ports to determine turbulence levels and adjusts the fly-by-wire flight controls to dampen oscillations.
Clay Lacy Aviation’s new maintenance shop
Clay Lacy Aviation’s new maintenance shop at Van Nuys also provides plenty of room for completions operations.
BBJ also unveiled interior concepts from completion specialists Greenpoint Technologies and Jet Aviation, and from German design firm Unique Aircraft Design, illustrating how the BBJ 777X “can be transformed to meet the tastes of any VIP customer,” BBJ said.
Jet Aviation’s concept Shaheen, which means royal white falcon, is designed to accommodate 43 passengers plus a crew of 11.
Greenpoint’s design, named Lotus, features an open floor plan, with monuments attached only to the floor.
No launch customer for the BBJ 777X, available in Q1 2021, has yet appeared, Laxton said at its launch. Meanwhile, as the world at large discusses the grounding of the B737 Max, effects on the BBJ Max program have gone largely unmentioned. As of last year’s NBAA Convention, BBJ reported logging orders for 20 BBJ Max 7/8/9 airframes. AIN asked Boeing if any BBJ Max orders have been canceled as a result of customer concerns or whether deliveries have been affected, but received no response before press time. Bernd Schramm, COO at AMAC Aerospace, which has two Maxes slated for induction, said the grounding and recertification issues were “slowing down a little bit the BBJ Max completion” activity, but “the customers we have are committed to the aircraft. We just need to know exactly when” the issues will be resolved, said Schramm.
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ), on the verge of delivering its first ACJ319neo, is seeing strong demand across both its single-aisle and widebody VIP platforms. The first of the new neos goes to German charter operator K5 Aviation, with cabin outfitting by the Netherlands’ Fokker Techniek. With eight passengers, the ACJ319 neo can reach its maximum 6,749-nm range, holding a 6,400-foot cabin altitude.
The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has ordered an A321LR to replace the Boeing 757 the luxury lodging and tour package provider currently uses for its deluxe air tours. The 4,000-nm A321LR will be outfitted with a spacious lounge, 48 lie-flat seats with ottomans, and two large lavs. EASA and the FAA granted certification last fall.
The fourth order came from a private customer, and all four ACJ350s will be delivered with ACJ’s Easyfit pre-installed cabin outfitting attachments, simplifying interior component installations in the composite airframe.
Bombardier Business Aircraft introduced for its flagship Global 7500 a circadian rhythm-based cabin lighting system designed to combat the effects of jet lag. The Soleil (French for sun) Dynamic Lighting System uses changing combinations of red and blue light wavelengths that studies have shown stimulate or suppress melatonin—a hormone that helps regulate sleep. It’s engineered to help align passengers’ circadian rhythms to their travel, said Bombardier Business Aircraft (BBA) manager, industrial design, Tim Fagan, adding, “I think we’re just scratching the surface on how we can better take care of our passengers onboard the aircraft in terms of wellness.”
Fully integrated with the aircraft’s flight management system through the Global 7500’s Lufthansa Technik nice Touch CMS, Soleil uses information in the active flight plan and proprietary algorithms to calculate the appropriate circadian-based lighting changes for the flight.
With the Global 5500 and 6500 on track to enter service this year, Bombardier has unveiled a new interior feature for the ultra-long-range twinjets: the Nuage (French for “cloud”) chaise, a lounge chair that converts to a flat surface.
Cousin to the Nuage seat, the Nuage chaise features an ergonomically perfected lounge position, adjustable via a simple pneumatic lever, allowing the chaise to be used for meetings, banquet style dining, and sleeping when laid flat, “broadening the utility of the whole cabin,” Bombardier said. The sleek minimalist style, devoid of visible support struts, complements the cabin’s open, spacious ambiance; moving parts of the pneumatically operated system are concealed.
Bombardier also unveiled at EBACE in May an updated Challenger 350, whose cabin now incorporates an enhanced soundproofing package, reducing the already low sound level by 1 to 2 dB SIL, and up to 4-5 dB SIL lower than previous CL300 models, said BBA director of product strategy and design Mathieu Noel.
Embraer introduced at the NBAA Convention last October the Praetor 500 and 600; upgraded, extended-range versions of the Legacy 450 and 500 respectively, which for now remain in production. The restyled interior is named Bossa Nova, translating to “new trend,” and in the Praetors’ case, a cabin that delights in displaying intracacies mimicking high-end watches and automobiles without exposing the underlying technology. It “treats the owner to a love of details,” said v-p interior design Jay Beever. The cabin’s upper tech panel, for example, adapted from the Phenom 300, hosts passive electronic switches that appear only when needed.
Bossa Nova’s appointments include a reinvented diamond stitching on the seats inspired by Rio’s beachfront promenade; carbon-fiber finishes on tables; and an optional three-seat divan with “a perfect 105-degree seating angle,” said Beever. “Most divans are like a park bench, with straight-up backs. Nobody wants to sit in them.”
MROS/REFURBISHMENT PROVIDERS
After providing maintenance at its Provo, Utah facility for more than a decade, Duncan Aviation has added refurbishment to the location’s services menu. Duncan launched a phased service entry of the new 275,000-sq-ft space, which includes two maintenance and completion hangars and a paint facility. Full-service back shops and offices, the last phase, are slated for an early 2020 opening. The paint facility completed its first project in May, a complex metallic black-to-charcoal fade applied on a Global 5000. That capped a year of innovations from its cabinetry/finish shop including creating removable table inserts, allowing customers “to customize the flight experience for the different seasons, highlight different designs, showcase logos, or celebrate special events or game days,” said Nate Klenke, Duncan’s manager for completions service sales.
Hydrographic finishing for a multitude of interior components offers a variety of different looks including wood grain, stone, metals and custom designs, without weight restraints or engineering requirements. Duncan also offers complementary spectra chrome graphics, providing “a variety of custom design possibilities” when deployed in tandem, Klenke said. The Provo facility also recently added a new 3D patterning software and a stitching machine for creating additional custom seat design options including perforation, quilting, and decorative stitching.
The name Clay Lacy Aviation doesn’t leap to mind among refurbishment providers, but the full-service charter management company aims to change that with its new 70,000-sq-ft maintenance facility at its Van Nuys headquarters. “Our focus has always been to provide a one-stop shop experience for managed clients,” said Clay Lacy v-p of maintenance Ed Mirzakhanian. “But with our new dedicated [maintenance] space we’re transitioning to serving non-managed clients.”
The facility includes 10,000 sq ft of interiors back shops. Bringing wood finishing in-house has been a challenge due to California’s process for issuing permits, but the company anticipates approval for a spray booth. A 700-sq-ft design showroom is stocked with sample fabrics, carpeting, seat leathers, sidewall and panel materials, woods and finishes, in a multitude of color palettes.
With a full avionics shop, Clay Lacy has begun leveraging FANS-1A and ADS-B upgrades developed in house for its managed Gulfstream GIV, GV, and Challenger 601 fleets.
Source: https://bit.ly/2S1w2fE
