There was a time when a VIP jet was simply a comfortable,
convenient alternative to the hassles of flying commercial. Interiors could be
luxurious, but there was only so much a designer could do within the confines of
a narrow tube. But as private jets grow larger, more owners are layering in
amenities and lifestyle considerations previously reserved for their vacation homes and their yachts. As this trend gains traction, some jet
buyers are bringing in yacht designers to help create their aircraft interiors.
The owners get someone with deep experience designing mobile luxury living
quarters and, if they’ve worked with the designer before, an intimate
understanding of their tastes and living preferences. The designers see in the
jets natural synergies with their yacht work, new creative challenges and a
potential center for growing their businesses.  "These new jets are incredible works of art," says Andrew
Winch, whose yacht design firm has experienced increasing aircraft business in
recent years. "They’re engineering masterpieces, and it’s our job to create
interiors as beautifully made as the rest of the aircraft." (Click image to enlarge)
Anecdotal evidence suggests a number of yacht interior
designers have done or are doing work on aircraft interiors. Winch and his
20-person design firm in London have done several large-jet interiors including
two Boeing Business Jets, which are 737 variants, and a widebody Boeing 767.
Last fall, the firm unveiled a concept project with Lufthansa Technik for a VIP
version of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner. It has also done independent concept
drawings for a VIP version of the mammoth Airbus A380.
Winch and others contend they bring to the table a broader
knowledge of an owner’s lifestyle needs than would a traditional aircraft
interior designer, who may tend to view aircraft more as a method of
transportation than an extension of an owner’s lifestyle. They feel they bring
fresh, outside-the-box ideas and solutions to the table born of their experience
designing on the larger canvas of superyachts. For instance, if they’re
designing an aircraft interior for an existing yacht client, they naturally will
possess intimate knowledge of the owner’s personal tastes and lifestyle
preferences.
"We are plane designers and yacht designers, not decorators,"
says Winch. "Where we come in is to look at the character of life on a plane
rather than just the utility of it. If you sleep in a king-size bed at home, why
not do so on your plane?"
787 stateroom (top) and lavatory (bottom). (Click images to enlarge)
As is the case with yachts, the size of private aircraft in
recent years has crept up. Where once a Lear or a Falcon or a Gulfstream would
do, nowadays commercial-size or "transport category" aircraft are fast becoming
the air limousine of choice. Without a doubt, this larger canvas increases the
creative challenges a yacht designer faces and enhances the appeal of the
medium.
"Within the last year, we have seen an explosion in interest in
our widebody aircraft," says Sandy Angers, spokesperson for Boeing Business
Jets, a joint venture of Boeing and General Electric. In commercial service,
widebodies typically denote aircraft with two aisles: the 747, 767, 777 and the
not-yet-delivered 787 Dreamliner. But in the VIP market, Boeing Business Jets
doesn’t distinguish between those and the 737 variants it calls BBJs. Angers
says private individuals comprise 43 percent of her company’s customer base,
with corporate clients, heads of state and charter companies rounding out the
picture.
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