Russian interest in the Swiss PrivatAir service

Published: 5/15/2000

A Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) belonging to PrivatAir of Switzerland has recently visited Moscow for a two-day demonstration to potential Russian buyers. Before the crisis of August 1998, three Russian entrepreneurs had expressed an interest in buying the jet, although the interest waned in the subsequent turmoil. The Moscow stop for the BBJ was the final destination for the aircraft on its five-week 'Grand Tour of Europe and Middle East'. On its visit to Kiev, it was inspected by a number of Ukranian businessmen and members of the government, including the head of the government flight department. According to Manfred Schindler, Vice-President for international sales with Boeing Business Jets, the Ukrainians had expressed an interest in the BBJ as a presidential aircraft, noting, not surprisingly, that the BBJ is superior to the VIP-configured Tu-154M recently delivered by the Aviacor factory to the Ukraine for President Leonid Kuchma. According to Schindler, the BBJ has also been offered to the Russian government, although Schindler admits that the chances of a sale are low. Sales if they do come are likely to be from those businessmen currently operating aircraft such as the Gulfstream III and IV. Russian corporate operators such as RAO Gazprom already use Falcon-900s, along with several VIP-configured Russian types such as theYak-42 and An-74. Along with a number of smaller Tu-134 jets, the VIP interiors for these aircraft were fitted at various locations in Western Europe. James Hay, commercial director of PrivatAir, said that his company has already built a client base in the CIS, stating 'we have some eight Russians flying regularly with us', and that the CIS accounts for 8% of the company's sales, with the expectation it could reach 10% in the near future. The rise in interest in the PrivatAir service is attributed to the BBJ's range and capacity, which allows it to fly non-stop from Moscow to LA, Miami, Johannesburg and Tokyo. PrivatAir, which specialises in VIP charters, has previously served its Russian clients aboard a VIP-configured Boeing B-757 (with 49 seats) and a Gulfstream G-IV. In fact, the first commercial flight for the PrivatAir BBJ was for a Russian customer in late April. Schindler agreed that direct sales of the BBJ are unlikely, because the potential buyers in the region prefer to register their planes in other countries and own the fleet via intermediary foreign structures. He did say, however, that he believed the three potential buyers from before the crisis were still interested in buying depending on conditions in Russia. Boeing itself was reluctant to discuss the identities of the prospective buyers, who had the aircraft demonstrated to them during their two-day stay.

Article ID: 1773