Big Jet Cabin Completions

The world’s first Airbus ACJ320neo to be completed and made available to charter customers was delievered by AMAC’s Basel, Switzerland, plant to Acropolis Aviation at Farnborough Airport in England during the summer. Alberto Pinto Design’s Yves Pickardt helmed the cabin interior work, which sees the jet accommodate up to 19 passengers. Key features include a king-size bed, one iPad per passenger, and bathroom and galley fittings finished in marble. Acropolis is targeting the jet at the head-of-state market, highlighting its potential use as a “flying boardroom” on nonstop segments of up to 13 hr. and/or 6,000 nm.

Munich’s K5 Aviation has taken delivery of the world’s first Airbus ACJ319neo and has begun offering the aircraft as part of its eight-member charter fleet. Fokker Techniek—the Dutch-based division of GKN Aerospace—carried out the 10-month completion program and delivered the aircraft in the middle of July. It has been a good summer for Fokker Techniek, which won The International Yacht & Aviation Award for Interior Design/VIP Completion for PH-GOV, a Boeing Business Jet with an interior designed by ALTEA. It was delivered to the Netherlands government last summer for use by the Dutch royal family and government.

Another Airbus ACJ319neo, this one delivered to its undisclosed customer by Basel, Switzerland-based completions center Jet Aviation, boasts the quietest cabin the company says it has furnished in its 53-year history. Jet explains the noise reductions have been achieved alongside weight loss, all while satisfying the customer’s exacting requirements. They included the incorporation of artwork, numerous mirrors and details in marble and onyx. “Our departments have been working together to rethink industry norms and apply new methodologies to create the next generation of VVIP cabins,” says Jeremie Caillet, vice president of completions. “They are not only beautifully designed and crafted, but are lighter and quieter, thus reducing fuel consumption while still providing passengers exceptional levels of comfort.”

Comlux Completion, the Indianapolis division of the bizjet engineering group, has delivered the first of four Airbus ACJ320neo aircraft for which it has contracts. No photographs have been released of the custom interior, which has been created for an undisclosed private customer. Comlux says the design scheme is “extremely detailed and sophisticated” and provides “a cozy yet elegant atmosphere through a succession of private rooms.” Two more ACJ320neos are undergoing completion at Indianapolis, with the next delivery due in the first quarter of 2021. The fourth jet will arrive in Indianapolis in April.

A long-term customer has received its 12th aircraft from Canadian completions house Flying Colours: a Dassault Falcon 2000LXS. The aircraft underwent a comprehensive interior reconfiguration as well as a new paint scheme applied in Flying Colours’ new climate-controlled paint shop at Peterborough, Ontario. The project involved reworking the floor plan to replace a four-seat club aft layout with a three-seat divan and reupholstered front seats positioned opposite, while four new seats were installed in the foreward section. A 13th project for the customer is “in the pipeline,” Flying Colours says.

Another Flying Colours project this year has been to complete a custom Bombardier Global 6500 interior for an undisclosed client. The aircraft, which is now in operation with the customer, includes bespoke cabinets built to order by Flying Colours’ carpentry shop in St. Louis ahead of installation in Peterborough. The clean-and-classic look is achieved through a combination of fine details: table corners are rounded and cup-holders are square, inverting usual design decisions, while the carpet pattern runs across the floor rather than leading the eye fore or aft to emphasize the sense of space and make the cabin look wider.

FAI’s completions division, FAI Technik, has finished work on a comprehensive refurbishment of a Bombardier Global Express jet. Known as Project Pearl, the five-month program required 10,000 hr. of work at FAI’s Nuremberg, Germany, facility and included inspections normally conducted at 60, 120 and 240 months, alongside cabin refurbishment and a striking black-and-white exterior paint scheme. The completions house worked with the German designer Tim Callies. Newly installed equipment for up to 12 passengers includes Collins Aerospace’s Venue cabin-management system and Honeywell K_a-band connectivity solutions. Asking price is $10.95 million.

Lufthansa Technik (LT) used the Dubai Airshow last November to launch a concept for the ACJ220, even though Airbus has yet to offer the aircraft formally as part of its ACJ product line. The key innovation of the LT design—called SkyRetreat—is to move back the cockpit bulkhead and install an L-shaped divan aft of the pilot’s seats, creating what it terms an “observation deck” behind the crew. Illustrations of the proposed design for the rest of the cabin feature its deck-style flooring, which emphasizes a link to yacht aesthetics.

Another innovative business-jet interior highlighted in the International Yacht & Aviation Awards 2020 was Greenpoint’s Affinity, which was shortlisted in the Private Jet Design Concept category. The design is dominated by a huge skylight running most of the length of the cabin at its apex. The company, headquartered in Bothell, Washington, and owned by Safran, designed the cabin concept in response to interest from a client who wished to “connect with nature,” according to Greenpoint’s design director, Annicka Wicklund. The category was won by Massari Design’s concept for a Boeing BBJ MAX 7.

Lufthansa Technik has handed over the first of three Airbus A350-900s it has been contracted to complete as VVIP aircraft for the German defense ministry. The aircraft are intended for use as head-of-state-level transports and mark the first time the type had been configured for such a role. It also is the first time an A350 has been used by any entity other than a commercial airline. The aircraft has a transitional cabin, which features a conference space, offices and a multi-purpose lounge area. The first aircraft is undergoing certification flights, before work begins on the next two in the fleet.