Royal Jet commission refit on BBJ

Royal Jet has commissioned a
$9 million upgrade for one if its six-strong fleet of Boeing Business Jets.

Sabena technics will be
carrying out the refurbishment, livery painting, aircraft maintenance and a
systems upgrade including in-flight entertainment, live TV, SATCOM, Wi-Fi and
global mobile systems (GSM).

The refurbishment will be
designed by Edése Doret, the acclaimed New
York aircraft interiors consultancy. The work on the
46-seat jet will be completed by Sabena technics’ team at its VIP completion
centre in Bordeaux, France.

“Each of our 11 aircraft is
like a five-star luxury hotel, and they are all very individual,” said Shane
O’Hare, president and chief executive officer of Royal Jet. “Our commitment is
to provide our guests with the most luxurious in-flight experience possible and
so it’s important that our jet interiors and systems are up to date and of the
highest quality.”

O’Hare continued “At this
end of the market, we must always keep up with customer expectations and offer
the very best in cutting-edge technology and luxury in line with the brand
promise. This particular BBJ will be the pride of our fleet when she returns to
service. This is the second such upgrade to our fleet and is part of Royal
Jet’s strategy to ensure that we continue to be the benchmark in the private
jet travel market. We are entering our ninth year of operations on a record of
strong growth, which enables us to invest heavily in the business.”

Ahmed Al Mamari, chief
operations/technical officer at Royal Jet added: “The BBJ is the mainstay of
our fleet. We selected Sabena technics for its experience in delivering
world-class luxury interiors for different aircraft and I am confident that it
will be able to minimize the refurbishment time through its large maintenance,
repair and overhaul (MRO) workforce.  The refit is scheduled to take five
months.”

Christophe Bernardini, chief
executive officer of Sabena technics, said: “Being able to work for Royal Jet
and to demonstrate our know-how in VIP refurbishment rewards our efforts. I am
confident that this first collaboration will set the pace for future projects
between both our companies.”