of choice. Without a doubt, this larger canvas increases the creative challenges a yacht designer faces and enhances
the appeal of the medium.
"Within the last year, we have seen an explosion in interest in our
widebody aircraft," say Sandy Angers, spokesperson for Boeing Business Jets, a
joint venture of Boeing and General Electric. In commercial service, widebodies
typically denote aircraft with two aisles: the 747, 767, 777 and the not-yet-delivered
787 Dreamliner. But in the VIP market, Boeing Business Jets doesn't distinguish
between those and the 737 variants it call BBJs. Angers says private individuals
comprise 43 percent of her company's customer base, with corporate clients, heads
of state and charter companies rounding out the picture.
The VIP market knows no boundaries when it comes to size. There
are many 747s and other jumbo aircraft in VIP service around the world. In addition
to space and luxury, the large jets offer the range and people-moving capacity
many VIPs require today. As with the trend in yachts, VIP widebody owners may
have a 747 in luxury livery and an additional aircraft for staff and luggage.
Private jets are almost always sold "green," that | completion centers to finish off their aircraft. Many owners bring their own designers -- generally those who do their homes or their yachts -- into the process. The completion centers work closely with the owners' designers to navigate the tangle of federal safety regulations
that govern aircraft interiors.
Unlike the process of designing a custom yacht where length, beam and volume are limited only by the size of the ocean and the owner's disposable income, aircraft interiors are limited by the dimensions of a given airframe and a complex nest of FAA regulations. Even though the cost of an aircraft interior may rival that of a complete superyacht build, it is in many ways more akin to designing the interior of a semi-custom boat, or writing a sonnet as opposed to free verse, with all the unique challenges it brings.
"Getting around the certification issues is the biggest challenge,"
says yacht interior designer Glade Johnson, who started his career in the aircraft industry. "Everything that CONTINUED > > > |
