|
A380 bought as private jet |
|
|
|
Wednesday, 20 June 2007 |
Attention hip hop stars and billionaires: the world's biggest airliner, the 73-metre-long (239-feet) Airbus A380 superjumbo, has been ordered by a mysterious buyer for private use.
The order could be seen as setting new heights in the private jet sector, leaving the Learjet, which used to be the ultimate symbol of ostentatious air travel, in second class.
The doubledecker A380, which enters service later this year, is capable of carrying 840 passengers, has 900 square metres (10,000 square feet) of cabin space and towers over its biggest rival, the Boeing 747.
Airbus sales director John Leahy declined to say when or to where the jet would be delivered, but fitting the plane to the specification demanded from the buyer is expected to take more than a year.
The buyer is likely to have paid over 300 million dollars (224 million euros) for the standard plane, according to the latest Airbus catalogue prices, but will then have costs for customisation.
Lufthansa Technik, which has about 40 percent of the market for fitting out large airliners, has proposed its own interior for the A380 that includes a three bedrooms, a lounge and dining area, a steam bath and exercise bikes.
Using the A380 as a private jet could have its problems, however.
The weight of the aircraft and its wingspan of 80 metres means it is unable to land at many airports and it can only be flown by specially trained pilots.
It was designed to fly a maximum number of passengers on longhaul routes between major travel hubs, offering cost savings for airlines.
Recommend this article...
Views: 2661
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.2 |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 July 2007 )
|
