L A R G E J E T S
Right: One of three of Comlux
Aviation’s ACJ319s
Below: The Infinito bedroom
can be fitted into the ACJ319
Inset: The ACJ319 has proved
a popular choice for VVIPs in
Middle Eastern countries
34 | BU S INE S S A I R P O RT INT E RNAT I ONA L O C TO B E R 2 0 1 9
Commercial considerations
But what if you are landing a bizliner at an airport that has
runway and parking capacity? There may still be other
restrictions – after all you are taking up a large amount
of space, but only bringing in a handful of passengers.
London Heathrow increased landing fees some years ago to
encourage bizliners to use other London airports. Moreover,
major airports, in Europe especially, are more restrictive in
the slots available given the amount of commercial traffic
they handle. From an MRO perspective, bizliners can require
particular specialist consideration – they are not the same
The potentially glorious afterlife of the A380
With a surplus of unwanted A380s, a number
of enterprising companies are attempting to
redeploy the aircraft for Royalty and heads
of state.
Recently, Sparfell Aviation Group (SAG)
announced that the first VVIP A380 could soon
be a reality. The hope is the VVIP A380s will
replace old and outdated 747 bizliners. Christian
Hatje is CEO of Geneva-based Sparfell &
Partners, SAG’s sales and acquisitions business.
He says, “As these aircraft go out of service
and require replacement due to an increase
in maintenance costs and necessary upgrades
to avionics, the A380-800 offers the perfect
replacement. The A380-800’s direct operating
costs are substantially lower, it is more reliable
and the only aircraft with two completely
separate decks.”
With VVIPs often traveling with more than
200 people, it’s not unusual for an entourage
to be spread across multiple aircraft. The VVIP
A380 will eradicate the need for numerous
aircraft, instead offering enough space to create
a VVIP suite on the upper deck and leaving the
lower deck for the remainder of the staff.
Working with Jet Aviation in Basel and Winch
Design in London, Sparfell & Partners claim that
the first A380 VVIP could be flying in 2021.
“The VVIP A380-800 is set to become the
aircraft of choice for the most influential
people in the world for the next 20 to 25 years,”
concludes Hatje.
clearance must follow the same process as
airlines. Also, some airports have parking
limitations for bizliners compared with how
smaller aircraft such as Global or Gulfstream
types are accommodated, together with the
lack of ground handling equipment, stairs
and tow bars. The question of extra security
or care on the ground also depends on the
owner’s preference.”
It is also the case that some airports allow
bizliners to land to drop off passengers, but
then they must fly to another airport to park.
Bizliners are also heavier than private jets,
so again that may restrict access to some
airports where the runway doesn’t have the
required strength.
Burrell says, “Turnaround for bizliners is
potentially longer than private jets. Aircraft
have bigger cabins to clean, take longer to
fuel, and maintenance checks may also be
longer. Just because an airport can accept
a B737 or ACJ319, it doesn’t mean that the
airport is set up to manage services well for
VIPs arriving or departing.”
Farnborough, Dubai Al Maktoum and
Paris Le Bourget for example, have excellent
FBO facilities for VIPs. Others without
dedicated FBOs do not necessarily have a
private terminal for customs or capability in
handling, supplying and servicing the aircraft.
These tend to be the smaller airports with
less private aviation travel and consequently
don’t invest in the infrastructure. Burrell says,
“In these cases, passengers have to walk
through main terminals; not great for a VIP
who doesn’t want arrival publicity. Ironically,
the fact that bizliners are bigger can put some
passengers off as they are too conspicuous.”