Cabot Aviation, the used aircraft sales division of charter broker Air Partner, has been appointed by VIP travel company Crystal Cruises to remarket a Boeing 787-8, following a change to its business model, Flightglobal.com reports on its website.
The widebody airliner – serial number 35507 – is currently under construction at the airframer’s facility in Seattle, and had been scheduled for delivery in November. “Crystal’s 787-8 is configured for 262 passengers,” Cabot’s senior vice-president Charley Cleaver, who is managing the sale, was quoted as saying. “It was originally to be used to transfer customers to its luxury cruise ships worldwide. Then Crystal changed its business model. It decided instead to use the aircraft for point-to-point, high-end travel – a cruise ship of the sky – for 100 passengers in first-class, flat-seat configuration.”
“However, when they designed the layout [with US completions company Greenpoint] they realised the 787 could only seat 60 passengers in this configuration. So the aircraft now has to be sold,” he was quoted as saying
Greenpoint is currently refurbishing a second-hand 777-200LR for Crystal in the 100-seat first-class layout. The airliner is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2017. Century City, California-headquartered Crystal currently operates a Bombardier Global Express long-range business jet. “It is likely that they will acquire another used 777 at some stage,” says Cleaver.
Crystal Cruises, which is part of the Genting Hong Kong group, is in the process of redefining itself as a lifestyle company rather than a luxury cruise line. The introduction of Crystal Air Cruises, river and ocean yachts plus new ocean going luxury vessels and possible conversion of the 1952 built ocean liner United States into a luxury cruise ships are all parts of the plan.
Genting Hong Kong also owns theAsia-Pacific focused contemporary market cruise brand Star Cruises and is about to introduce the first ship of Dream Cruises, a premium market brand with Asia-Pacific focus later this year.
Cabot says it is “actively pursuing” a number of leads for the GE Aviation GEnx-1B-powered 787, which it says is the only -8 available on the open market.
Boeing debuted a BBJ 787-8 in May at the European Business Aviation Association convention in Geneva, Switzerland. The aircraft – owned by Chinese operator Deer Jet and scheduled for service entry in the third quarter of this year – is the first Dreamliner to feature a complete VVIP cabin.Two other BBJ 787s are in government service, one in the Middle East and the other in Mexico, although neither has a VVIP interior, Flightglobal said.
