Billionaires Still Buying

A solid sector of the aviation aftermarket not slipping is buoyed by money, and lots of it. Narrowbody and widebody VIP/VVIP aircraft completions seem to be sheltered from the economic turbulence, sheltered because of the owners and operators of these large luxury jets.

As David Velupillai, product marketing director of executive and private aviation for Airbus, said, "We believe that if you can afford to spend $62 million (current list price for the A318 Elite) or more on an aircraft, then you are probably a billionaire, or well on the way to becoming one. And if you are a billionaire, then you are likely to go on buying. Manufacturers of smaller business jets, which sell for less money, and to millionaires rather than billionaires, are more likely to be affected," by the global economic downturn.

In fact, business is so brisk there's a bit of a bottleneck for widebody completions. Velupillai recommends booking a cabin outfitting slot at the time of ordering your VIP aircraft--like now, for 2012.

Lufthansa Technik Chairman August Wilhelm Henningsen said at the NBAA convention in October that he's seeing an increased demand for completions and modifications, and that LHT is taking slot reservations for 2012-18. Walter Heerdt, head of marketing and sales for Lufthansa Technik, confirmed Dec. 15 that timeslot is still current and said LHT hasn't had any narrowbody or widebody completion cancellations.