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Room for manoeuvre

Anthony James, editor of Business Jet Interiors International, ponders the ever growing queues at VIP wide-body completions centres, and the challenges facing new centres looking to get in on the action.

Despite the ongoing financial meltdown, there are still a few people out there willing to spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars on their very own Boeing or Airbus, complete with a customised interior costing nearly half as much again. In fact the demand for wide-body VIP completions is such that the established centres are telling customers they will have to wait at least three years before a slot is available.

This situation has tempted a number of new entrants into the ‘big iron’ completions market. As you’d expect, the established centres are a little sniffy about these young upstarts, warning owners to think carefully before entrusting their near priceless piece of flying real estate into the hands of a relative ‘novice’.

After all, it’s hard to think of a more profound example of personal expression than one’s very own aircraft interior – probably the biggest ego trip going. Of course, there’s no accounting for taste… or the huge sums of money owners are willing to spend. But the completion companies entrusted to deliver these ‘flying palaces’ had better make sure they deliver an interior of the highest standard – reputation is everything in this sector.

The easiest, but not necessarily the most cost-effective way to ensure the best job possible is to do everything in-house. Cabinetry, seating, electronics, systems integration, regulatory approval, cabin installation – the works. This is the philosophy of the established centres, whose hangars are surrounded by workshops and drawing offices to conjure any request.

Of course the newer completion centres have the hangar space, but it’ll be a few years yet before they are able to compete in terms of in-house engineering. For now, the newer centres will have to rely on numerous, specialised subcontractors. However, this situation should not put prospective customers off – after all, it is fundamentally the same process behind the vast majority of products that we all use everyday. The key, of course, is effective subcontractor management.

Ultimately, the VIP completions market needs to grow – but just how many of the ‘new’ centres will still be around a few years from now as independent ventures remains to be seen. Either way, the centres in question will need to have earned the trust of customers for whom no mistakes can ever be excused – whether the fault of the centre directly or a subcontractor further down the line.

If you have an observation to make on this subject, Business Jet Interiors International would love to hear from you. What are the challenges you face expanding your completions business? What are the most effective methods of subcontractor management? And what are owners asking for? Email a.james@ukintpress.com with your comments, or with your own opinion piece on a new subject.

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