Bizliner Bargains
Why pay $50 million for a large business jet when you can have just as much cabin space for a fraction of the cost?
By Kirby J. Harrison - February 1, 2009
Even when economic times were good, regional airliners reconfigured for executive/VIP use were a bargain, offering a large-cabin equivalent of a Bombardier Global XRS or a Gulfstream G550 at a fifth of the cost.
Today, with many of the world’s economies in recession or at least struggling, more than a dozen companies are involved in the acquisition and conversion of regional jets to an executive/VIP role. And there’s no shortage of customers.
The 328Jet, originally built by Dornier of Germany to carry 32 passengers on short regional routes, is among the most popular candidates. Wessling, Germany-based 328 Support Services delivered one converted 328Jet in 2008 and a second one in early 2009 and expects to deliver another three before the end of the year.
Jordan Jaffe of ComTran International in San Antonio describes its “Revolution Series” 328Jet conversions as “bulletproof.” They come with a one-year warranty on the airframe, avionics and interior and a pre-paid “power-by-the-hour” program for the engines. A finished price of about $12 million covers aircraft acquisition, a full maintenance modification, a full executive/VIP interior, fresh exterior paint and the addition of a long-range auxiliary fuel system that extends the jet’s range to nearly 2,100 nautical miles.
The cabin of a recently converted 328Jet included a full-size galley with coat closet, three DVD players, satellite radio, Aircell access to broadband connectivity, iPod docks and 10-inch monitors at every seat and two 20-inch bulkhead-mounted LCD monitors. The aircraft also boasted 227 cubic feet of baggage space with a weight capacity of 1,650 pounds.
If cabin size is what counts, consider the executive/VIP conversion of the BAe 146 and Avro RJ that offer double the volume of a large-cabin business jet, such as the Gulfstream G550. BAE Systems in the UK is offering the reconfigured, four-jet aircraft, with extended-range fuel tanks, at about $10 million. An Avro RJ70 converted for BAE Systems by MAC Interior Specialists in the UK brought “new meaning to the term ‘bespoke,’” according to BAE vice president of marketing and analysis Robert Morris.
The converted aircraft features side-facing divans to enhance the view of the central, 42-inch LCD monitor, an extended lavatory aft with Villeroy & Boch fixtures, an in-flight entertainment system from Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen and a surround-sound package from Tenencia–all in a cabin that is nearly 60 feet long and more than nine feet wide and features 6 feet 9 inches of headroom.
Perhaps the most popular of the “regional redos” is the Canadair CRJ200, which has essentially the same size cabin as Bombardier’s Global Express XRS. The Global Express does offer a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles, compared with just over 3,000 (with auxiliary fuel tanks) for the reconfigured regional airliner.
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