Leading European completions and refurbishment provider Jet Aviation Basel has appointed a new manager to head its 20-strong team of interior designers.
Reporting to VP Eugen Hartl, Elisabeth Harvey has been promoted to take responsibilty for the in-house creation of VIP interior designs for narrow and widebody green completions and refurbishment projects. She also co-ordinates Jet Aviation’s work with the top external design agencies retained by clients.
“Elisabeth brings a lot of experience to her new responsibilities and knows how to successfully manage the most demanding VIP interior design projects,” says Hartl. A graduate of the London School of Interior Design, she worked for a well known British company on interiors for commercial premises and private houses throughout Europe and the USA before joining Jet Aviation in 2006.
One of her earliest jobs at the helm of the Jet Aviation could result from a tender for refurbishment of the Boeing BBJs operated by Abu Dhabi-based luxury operator Royal Jet. The company is spending $50 million on new interiors for the five aircraft that will include new inflight entertainment, 180º lie-flat beds and - on three of them - showers.
The first aircraft will go to Goderich Aircraft in Ontario, Canada, in June, and Royal Jet is inviting tenders for the other four. The aircraft are between four and seven years old and each refit will take about five months.
Royal Jet’s experience on the project shows that the completions capacity shortage that loomed so large last year has now evaporated in the face of the recession. The company reports that, far from having to wait for slots one or two years off, it is now being offered immediate service.
And in another sign that the top end of the travel market is feeling the pinch, Lufthansa is switching to mixed-class interiors on the Airbus A319LR and BBJ services carried out on its behalf by Privatair. Currently featuring an all-business-class 48-seat cabin, two of the aircraft are to be reconfigured with 60 economy-class seats and a smaller, 32-seat, business cabin. Inflight entertainment will be available in both classes on the aircraft, which will be used on routes from Frankfurt to Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian city of Dammam.
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