VistaJet Is Giving Its Fleet the Biggest Interior Makeover in the History of Private Aviation
Chartering a plane can be an unpredictable experience, but VistaJet is working to change that, modeling its fleet-wide makeover on the swankiest ultra-long-range aircraft in its fleet.
Last year, the Malta-based private-aviation company acquired charter firms JetEdge in the U.S. and Air Hamburg in Europe, bringing its fleet total to 360 aircraft while crowning the United States its largest market.
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VistaJet’s flagship Bombardier Global 7500—its fleet of 18 is private-aviation’s largest—will be the template for this far-reaching makeover.
When the company began acquiring the $75 million ultra-long-range heavy jet two years ago, “we started saying, ‘Well, now that this is so beautiful, we want every other plane to look like this,’” Matteo Atti, VistaJet’s chief marketing officer, told Robb Report aboard the jet at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.
This six-bed, two-bathroom penthouse in the sky will serve as VistaJet’s blueprint to refurbish more than 100 of the recently acquired aircraft over the next two years, updating woods, leathers, and carpets with higher-end materials and a neutral color palette. More than 200 aircraft now have VistaJet’s signature red-and-silver liveries, and in the last six months, the company has refurbished 37 aircraft.
“We wanted to get away from the conference-center vibes,” Atti said from the jet’s stateroom at the far end of the cabin. Decked in mahogany wood and thick leather panels to dull the ambient noise, the bedroom chamber is designed as a first-class suite, containing the comforts required for the Global 7500’s 17-hour maximum range.
The Global 7500’s new interior look is first trickling down to VistaJet’s large-cabin business jets, such as the Bombardier Challenger 605 and Gulfstream G450, and eventually it will become standard on its smaller aircraft. The goal is to create a uniform experience once customers “board and turn right,” no matter the size of the aircraft, says Leona Qi, President of VistaJet U.S.
“They are offering a consistent product, so you know what you are going to get in terms of configurations, design, amenities and connectivity,” said Doug Gollan, founder of the consumer buyer’s guide Private Jet Card Comparisons. It is one of only three firms, including NetJets and Qatar Executive, to standardize layout and design on large-cabin jets.
On Robb Report’s tour of the Global 7500, sunlight streams in from oversized rectangular windows as Atti points to the assortment of robes, pajamas, and socks from Bonsoir of London and Johnstons of Elgin lying on the stateroom’s permanent bed. Next to the door containing the stateroom’s en suite bathroom and shower is a “library” stocked by renowned London booksellers Heywood Hill and Foyles.
Atti heads through the stateroom’s pocket door to the “entertainment zone,” with a 40-inch flat-screen TV and a quilted bench seat that opens into a bed. This particular configuration teems with baskets of games and toys for clients’ children.
Continuing to move toward the cockpit, Atti stops in a living room with club chairs and cashmere blankets. The back half of the room transforms into a cozy dining room or an executive conference room.
“Customers expect a certain standard for how it looks and what the service is like,” Qi says, “as in, if you wouldn’t drink it at home, you don’t want it on the flight.”
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