TOP FLIGHT
English summary
M r. F e c t o a u , p l e a s e t e l l u s
a b o u t t h e m a r ke t i n w h i c h
yo u o p e r a t e .
Boeing, and namely its BBJ
subsidiary, occupies about 70%
of the large private jet market,
with the 737 family occupying
60% of the narrow-body aircraft
market. There are three types
of customers in this segment:
private individuals/companies,
charter operators and govern-
ments. 50% of sales are made
directly to individuals or com-
panies that purchase a plane
for long-term operation, while
striving to maintain its value for
possible resale. They use the air-
planes for personal and profes-
sional needs. Another 30%
of sales are to charter operators,
who use business jets for on-de-
mand fl ights, such as the special
Deer Jet and Crystal AirCruis-
es airplanes. The remaining 20%
of sales are to various govern-
ments. In this regard, 2017-2018
was especially successful for us:
we sold 12 aircraft to various
countries. This year we have al-
ready delivered two BBJs to the
heads of state of Poland and the
Netherlands, and the Japanese
government has begun operat-
ing the BBJ 777.
Number 12 /121/ December 2019
W h a t h a s d r i v e n yo u r
s u c c e s s?
Several factors, including
the wide product range from the
narrow-bodied BBJ MAX 7 and
747-8 to our latest model, the 787.
Our large selection of aircraft
with varying cabin sizes gives
means our clients can choose
an aircraft that meets their spe-
cifi c needs. Other factors in-
clude the operational readiness
and reliability of the aircraft,
which stands at 99.9%, and our
ability to service the aircraft
of our clients, wherever they are,
for which the BBJ operator has
fi ve dedicated engineers.
Close cooperation with Boe-
ing is benefi cial to our clients.
This applies both to the acquisi-
tion of commercial aircraft, and
the ability to use the company’s
resources anywhere in the world,
which is a great benefi t compared
to small business jets. In my opin-
ion, these factors are driving our
success. As Airbus, which is our
main competitor, it is diffi cult
to say what the future holds for
us. But if I had to compare our
products with those of our com-
petitors, I would say that our jets
are much more autonomous
in terms of range, with a lower
cabin altitude. This is especial-
ly true of the Boeing 787, which
is the benchmark in this regard.
This aircraft was designed based
on in-depth studies in order to
improve passenger comfort.
Yo u a re v e r y a c t i v e i n t h e
s e c o n d - h a n d a i rc r a f t m a r ke t
a n d yo u h e l p yo u r c l i e n t s
w i t h t h e re s a l e p ro c e s s . Te l l
u s m o re a b o u t t h i s .
We indeed are active in the
second-hand market, and
we have a department dedicat-
ed to this. We need to be on the
pulse of the sales and life cycle
of our aircraft. So, we manage
to maintain stability not only
in terms of the number of air-
craft in the second-hand mar-
ket, but also in terms of the re-
sale value of aircraft sold by our
customers. It is important for
us to support customers in the
resale process, especially if they
acquire a new model. The resale
value of our aircraft is general-
ly high because they were orig-
inally designed for commercial
aviation and are subject to far
fewer cycles and fl ight hours
than aircraft operated by com-
mercial airlines. It is of no sur-
prise that the BBJ product range
is particularly popular in the
second-hand market. A fi fteen-
year-old BBJ maintains a high
resale value and operational
costs are low compared to oth-
er popular business jets such
as the G650 or Global 7500. This
is primarily due to the interre-
lation of our aircraft and com-
mercial airplanes, which were
designed to achieve certain per-
formance indicators, especially
from the point of view of engine.
According to our estimates,
the cost of a BBJ MAX fl ight
hour is about USD 7,000, which
is comparable with the Gulfst-
ream, Global and Falcon, with
the difference being that our
narrow-bodied aircraft can ac-
commodate twice as many pas-
sengers on board as these liners.
W h a t i s t h e m a r ke t o u t l o o k
f o r t h e n ex t f i ve ye a r s?
This is a tricky ques-
tion as there are many factors
in play, including economic in-
stability. However, we are fair-
ly confi dent that the market has
decent growth potential. Giv-
en the growing need for people
to move around and the require-
ment to replace the current fl eet
in the medium term, I would say
that the outlook for the next ten
years is favorable. In fact I be-
lieve that in the next fi ve years
we will reach sales of seven
to ten aircraft per year.
C a n yo u p rov i d e u p -t o - d a t e
i n f o r m a t i o n o n c u r re n t
o rd e r s?
2017/18 was defi nitely the
best since 2008, with us receiv-
ing almost 20 orders. We are cur-
rently working to deliver 20 BBJ
MAX orders, and specifi cal-
ly four BBJ MAX 7, thirteen BBJ
MAX 8 and three BBJ MAX 9.
A re y o u p l a n n i n g t o d e v e l o p
something similar to the
Airbus Corporate Jet Center?
We do not plan to create
such a center in the medium
term, since in our view this sec-
tor should be independent from
the manufacturer. In most cas-
es, we deliver aircraft in the
so-called ‘green’ confi guration,
i.e., without equipping the cab-
in. Many clients use the ser-
vices of a personal designer,
who is also responsible for their
homes and yachts. Nevertheless,
we have a dedicated group that
accompanies the cabin design
process and equipping of the in-
terior to make sure that the de-
sign of the cabin does not affect
the performance and reliabil-
ity of the aircraft. If the client
does not have a personal de-
signer, or if he or she is desir-
ous of a turnkey jet complete-
ly ready for fl ight, we can offer
several design studios to choose
from, such as Jacques Pierrejean
and Alberto Pinto. At the same
time, we help clients fi nd a suit-
able center that equips cabins
in tandem with Boeing.