For business and leisure or for that matter even their simple transportation needs, the uber rich depend on private jets. But these jets are no ordinary jets. They are high-end with all the accoutrements of luxury living the growing breed of billionaires across continents are known to live. Let us begin from home. The richest Indian family—Ambanis—have a fleet of jets. Mukesh Ambani has a Boeing Business Jet 2 with 1,000 square feet of space. Yes, it is a tiny place compared to the 4,00,000 square feet of living space his house Antilia in Mumbai has. However, the luxurious space in the sky has a bedroom, a boardroom and an executive suite. His younger brother Anil Ambani is in the company of Bill Clinton and Steven Spielberg, all owning Dassault’s flagship business jet—the Falcon 7X. When it first hit the market in 2005, it cost a cool $50 million. It can carry 13 passengers travelling in the lap of luxury. The Falcon 7X is said to be the most technologically advanced business jet in service, redefining ownership, pilot and passenger performance. The jet is designed to fly 5,950 nm, linking vital city pairs including Paris-Tokyo, New York-Jeddah and Johannesburg-London with a payload of eight passengers and a crew of three.

The one who has caught everyone’s attention is Vijay Mallya who owns an Airbus ACJ 319 and we are not talking about the beleaguered Kingfisher Airline. Mallya bought the high-end aircraft in 2006 for a reported price of over $61 million (standard equipment costing above $33 million and customised equipment costing over $27 million). The ACJ 319 can carry 22 passengers and is said to cost upwards of Rs. 10 crore per year to operate. Then we have Gautam Singhania, Chairman of Raymond Corp, who has the Bombardier Challenger 600 series reportedly costing over $25 million. World renowned aircraft interior designer Eric Roth has given the interiors something to look forward to.

Opulence in the sky

If we look at globally, there is none to beat the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who in 2009 bought an Airbus A380 for private use. The Saudi prince would have spent an estimated $500 million on customising the jet which however does not fall into the business jet category as it is a commercial airliner which has been converted.

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, goes about crisscrossing continents in a Bombardier BD 700 Global Express which can seat between eight and 19 people. The jet has an extended range of 11,300 kilometres. While Warren Buffet, fashion designer Ralph Lauren, television personality Oprah Winfrey, Hollywood mogul David Geffen, and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar own Gulfstream G650, said to be the fastest and most technologically advanced private jet in the world, with a top speed of 1,130 kmph. It is said to be 20 per cent bigger than Bombardier’s largest existing business jet, the Global Express XRS, which seats between eight and 19 passengers.

The Gulfstream G650 ultra-large cabin, ultra-high speed business jet is, quite simply, the gold standard in business aviation. Introduced in 2008, the G650 can carry eight passengers and a crew of four on non-stop legs of 7,000 nautical miles. That means it will link Dubai with New York and London with Buenos Aires.

Not to be left behind is the Brazilian aircraft behemoth, Embraer, which has the Lineage 1000 with a seating capacity of 19 and a bedroom and bathroom. Jorge Vergara who owns Mexican soccer team Club Deportivo Guadalajar and Chivas USA owns a Lineage 1000. The jet has five cabin zones for work, relaxation and privacy. It has a queen-size bed, en-suite lavatory and walk-in shower, 23” LCD display, inflight phone, spacious, spa-like lavatory, Wi-Fi network, crew lavatory, single-club seats, wardrobe, divan and credenza among others to provide comfort in the sky.

Another from the Embraer stable is the Legacy 650 which has three distinct cabin zones, wherein while some passengers are working, some can dine or take a nap. It can fly directly from Dubai to London or Beijing to Moscow. The Legacy 650 has China’s most famous movie star Jackie Chan as its brand ambassador considering the potential for luxury business jets in China.

Boeing’s customised 737

At the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition 2012 in China, Boeing unveiled the $80 million high-tech customised 737. The 737 retails for a mere $57million. But interior remodelling, done by an independent company and ranging between $20 and $25 million typically push total costs for the Boeing 737 to around $80 million. The plane can carry up to 19 passengers and flies 5,600 nautical miles at Mach 0.80, or roughly 12 hours of non-stop flight, before it needs refuelling. A conference room features connectivity for smartphones and computers, and a highdefinition video system boasts surround-sound audio.

The jet sleeps up to eight people and features a large bedroom with king-sized bed and a private toilet. The plane also includes a smaller bedroom with divans that convert into beds. And the jet’s kitchen features convection and microwave ovens, a refrigerator, wine cooler and trash compactor.

Airbus ACJ offer choice

Airbus offers the most modern and comprehensive corporate jet family in the world, giving customers the greatest choice of the widest and most spacious cabins. The corporate jets range from the Airbus ACJ318 all the way to the double-deck ACJ380, allowing customers to select the comfort they want in the size that they need. The family begins with the Airbus ACJ318, ACJ319, ACJ320 and ACJ321, which feature cabins that are approximately twice as wide as traditional high-end business jets, without being much larger externally. This makes them the new standard to which corporate jet customers aspire—whether as a first aircraft or when trading up from something smaller. It also means that customers for these aircraft benefit from unequalled comfort, space and freedom of movement on every trip.

Market Remains Strong

In its latest business jet market report, J.P. Morgan states: “New business jet demand remains weak, especially at the small end, but there have been intermittent signs of recovery.” However, the higher end of the market remains strong while the lower end is still weaker. Backlog for new business jets remains stable, ending 2012, at about $40 billion, which J.P. Morgan says is consistent with each of the last two years but still down more than 50 per cent from the peak in 2008. “We estimate that half of this backlog is attributable to the G650 and the Global [series].”

Canadian aerospace company—Bombardier—is working to defend its market share in the high end business jet segment, taking on rival Gulfstream’s popular G650. Bombardier has been aggressively marketing Global series. The Global 6000 which was showcased at Aero India 2013 has unrivalled cabin size, offering levels of comfort combined with an optional stand-up shower. The jet can link Mumbai with London and Kolkata with Sydney, non-stop with eight passengers and three to four crew.

The head of Bombardier Aerospace Guy Hachey has said: “Our intention is to grow our leadership position and the time is right to move forward with an extension of the line-up of jets in the company’s top-end Global family.” The newly launched Global 7000 and 8000 are expected to enter service in 2016 and 2017. “Bombardier certainly has its work cut out for it in terms of responding to the G650, which in many respects breaks new ground and carves out its own niche at the top end,” said Raymond Jaworowski of consultancy Forecast International. In all, the high end business market is quite buoyant even while the competition is keen. Bombardier in its 2012-31 forecast has said that the long-term market drivers of business jet industry growth remains solid and the drivers include: wealth creation, increasing business jet penetration in high-growth economies, globalisation of trade, replacement demand and market accessibility. Bombardier anticipates 9,800 deliveries of all types of business jets between 2012 and 2021.

Less affected by downturn

Bombardier has forecast that the large aircraft category will demonstrate the fastest growth. The large category features aircraft with equipped prices between $45 million and $69 million, offering ranges over 5,000 nm and cabin volumes of 1,500 ft³ (42.5 m³ ) to 3,000 ft³ (85.0 m³).

This category was less affected by the downturn than the medium and light categories. Pre-owned inventory accounts for 6.2 per cent of the large category fleet. During the 20-year period from 2012 to 2031, it anticipates the large category to generate a total of 5,500 deliveries, valued at $292 billion, representing approximately 45 per cent of total delivery revenues.