by James Wynbrandt skilled craftsmen,” Kadri Muhid- More comfort, flexibility, Completion Centers din, Amac’s group executive chair- Amac Aerospace Switzerland has man and CEO, said the acquisition productivity and utility—that’s acquired France’s JCB Aero SAS, “makes the perfect complement to which produces interior elements Amac Aerospace’s operations and what the completions and such as curved honeycomb panels core competencies.” and composite structures and pro- Meanwhile, at its Basel head- refurbishment (C&R) industry vides engineering and helicopter com- quarters facility, Amac refurbished pletion services. Located in Auch, a BBJ3 737-900ER with new seats, has long offered business JCB will continue operating under handmade carpeting and electri- its own name for the present. It has cally controlled high-low tables, aviation. With the introduction 120 employees, a 54,000-sq-ft han- and modified existing divans. That gar and 66,000 sq ft of office space. project followed the green comple- of a new-generation composite Citing its “experienced and highly tion late last year of an ACJ319. bizliner, retrofits offering the www.ainonline.com An Amac technician at work latest onboard connectivity technologies, adoption of 3-D capabilities that streamline interiors projects, and many more milestones, the past year has put an exclamation point on the progress this sector perennially leads and showcases. © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to Completions and Refurbishments Bombardier interior Airbus ACJ350 lounge Amac has also returned a head-of-state A320 to service following heavy maintenance that included installation of BBJ 787 and ACJ A350: a satcom system and cabin connectivity upgrade for New-gen bizliners take completions spotlight onboard GSM (Global Sys- tem for Mobiles) usage. Amac will also perform mul- Turf wars between BBJ and ACJ have advanced into the new generation as tiple cabin modifications on a completions plans and projects for the composite BBJ 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 777-200 as part of a ACJ A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body) move from 3-D toward reality. new heavy base maintenance contract, and will refurbish a BBJ 787 facility in Moses Lake, Wash. The aircraft arrived BBJ 737-700. Boeing Business Jets and Kestrel Aviation Man- there in early 2014. By the time the Dreamliner Muhiddin noted that while agement displayed the first BBJ 787 with a fully cus- landed in Geneva for EBACE it was on the cusp of FAA certification, and Stephen Vella, Kestrel’s green private widebody sales are tomized interior at EBACE in Geneva in May. (Only down, growing demand for inte- chief executive, told AIN in the middle of last invited guests were allowed inside.) The 40-passen- rior refreshment is keeping the month that “on behalf of our principal, Kestrel is in ger cabin, finished in a palette of earth tones, was facility busy. “If you don’t have the final closing process with an undisclosed owner designed by Kestrel and Pierrejean Design Studio a new airplane, the next step is as Operator of the aircraft." They will then have www.ainonline.com refurbishment; if you don’t want of Paris and has a forward master suite with bed- [China’s] HNA Aviation Group operate the aircraft. to spend $100 million, you spend room, an expansive lounge area, and in the rear a “With this BBJ 787,” said Vella, “we are $20 million,” Muhiddin said. guest cabin with first-class seating. Kestrel, based in launching corporate aviation into a new era of Amac is among the comple- Washington State, has driven the project from its luxury, technology and style.” HNA said at EBACE tion centers offering high-speed inception (this is the 11th private widebody project it that the aircraft will be registered in Guernsey, Inmarsat-Honeywell JetWave has managed) and for the 787 the company says it one of the Channel Islands between England and Wi-Fi systems, and recently “explored the world for materials never before seen in France. It will be only the second aircraft to sign installed and developed an STC up with that recently established registry. for a BBJ3, its fourth Ka-band corporate aircraft. The texture of our carpet offers gentle reflexology, which is wonderful for the feet Supporting its assertion that this is the first STC. It’s also developing Ka- true BBJ 787, Kestrel emphasizes that this is “the Band installations for BBJs, and circulation. We have found and customized the only one with an entirely bespoke interior.” The BBJ 777s, and ACJ340s. best leathers, materials with silk threads and even airplane is slated for delivery this month, “largely on Early this year, more than a innovative lightweight metal composites.” schedule, to budget and below the contracted cabin month ahead of schedule, Asso- At the end of 2013, after the interior had been weight,” according to Vella. “The degree of ciated Air Center (AAC) of designed, Greenpoint Technologies was awarded Dallas, Texas, delivered its first the contract to perform the completion at its Continues on next page u BBJ 747-8 completion, to an © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to Completions and Refurbishments undisclosed Middle East head organizational designation of state. AAC’s in-house team authorization (ODA) team designed the more than 5,000 sq obtained several FAA supple- ft interior (4,786 sq ft upper and mental type certificates (STCs) main deck cabins, plus 393 sq ft as well as other EASA and cus- berthing module). Purpose-spe- tomer country validations. cific zones accommodate rest- In September, AAC will ing, meeting, dining, lounging, deliver an ACJ320 to another gaming and medical services, undisclosed Middle Eastern while audio-video-on-demand customer, its 90th head-of- (AVoD) is universally available state completion, said AAC BBJ 787-8 © 2016 KESTREL AVIATION MANAGEMENT © 2016 KESTREL AVIATION through in-arm, personal LCD president James Colleary. The touchscreen and 55-inch bulk- interior has a bedroom, private head-mounted LED monitors. lounge and dining, entertain- BBJ 787 and ACJ A350: Continued The passenger flight informa- ment and staff areas. JetWave tion system (PFIS) displays 3-D satcom will provide connectiv- moving maps and external high- ity. Meanwhile a BBJ 747-8 and interaction required between Kestrel and the modification def cameras provide landscape BBJ 787 are both nearing com- center was uncharacteristically intense.” AIN understands that viewing. Multi-region satellite pletion, scheduled for redeliv- an aircraft of this opulence would carry a price tag in the region TV, Internet and video confer- ery before year-end. of $350 million. encing are provided via Satcom Fokker Services will con- Broad Band (SBB), and LED vert China’s Comac (Commer- Jon Buccola, chairman of Greenpoint (a division of Zodiac mood lighting and multi-zonal cial Aircraft Corp. of China) Aerospace) called the completion “only the tip of the iceberg for cabin humidification system. ARJ21-700 regional airliner our 787 future,” noting that the company has a second BBJ 787 in Three of the nine lavatories into a business jet through completion. Associated Air Center and GDC Technics also have are equipped with showers. a Netherlands-based joint BBJ 787 completions in the works. AAC’s in-house certification development program. Final Two other BBJ 787s are currently in operation, one owned by a Middle East airline and the other by the government of Mexico, but neither has an all-VIP interior. Interior Visions Meanwhile, at least one airline wants to upgrade its Dreamliner C&R specialists are using 3-D design tools and technologies to passengers to business (aviation) class. Lufthansa Technik (LHT) tackle two critical issues confronting completion and refurbish- will soon commence a comprehensive cabin modification pro- ment projects: getting customized interiors to fit inside airframes gram on a green Boeing 787-8 for the undisclosed airline. The properly; and getting customer approvals for design changes, work aircraft, accommodating about 200 passengers, will be outfitted orders and other project modifications and milestones, so work with upgraded in-flight entertainment and communication sys- can proceed on schedule. With 3-D protocols, projects can now be tems, and modified galley and crew rest compartments. The 787 designed and manufactured so precisely that interior elements re- will arrive at LHT’s completion center in early autumn, said Wal- quire only a single fitting, rather than the two and three fitting and adjusting steps previously required. ter Heerdt, senior vice-president for VIP and special-missions Jet Aviation Basel (JAB) has harnessed this 3-D technology to aircraft. Installation is expected to require about two months. create JetVision, a web-based app that lets clients monitor their www.ainonline.com projects and provide needed feedback and approvals in real time ACJ A350 from anywhere in the world. The app is an outgrowth of the Basel- With green deliveries of ACJ A350 XWBs (Xtra Wide Body) based provider’s preparations for completions on BBJ 787s and the scheduled to begin in 2019, completion centers are showcasing ACJ A350s, said Matthew Woollaston, vice president of completions their interior design concepts for the aircraft. Lufthansa Tech- sales and marketing. nik’s (LHT’s) “Home” concept is designed for a new genera- “The overall goal is to reduce the downtime and give the client tion of private airliner buyers, said Michael Reichenecker, LHT’s a far greater understanding of what they’re going to receive at the chief interior architect, and Home’s co-designer. “Our custom- end of the program,” Woollaston said. “We came to the realization we ers are getting younger, and they will have different demands on would probably be moving faster [on completion projects] than the what they want their aircraft to do.” LHT answered with a flexi- principal and their representatives would be able to make decisions.” ble space that allows an owner to enjoy complete family privacy In addition to precise depictions of design and layouts for cli- or grand entertaining, while still accommodating staff and oth- ents’ approvals, JetVision provides progress reports, images and er support needs.