Jul. 11--Testing the North American appetite for ultra-exclusive business travel, Airbus has opened a corporate jetliner sales showroom in Miami, revving up marketing to those who have $45 million or more to spend on a spacious, luxurious airplane.
Located within its Airbus training center near Miami International Airport, the facility offers prospective customers the chance to sit in a fully equipped mock-up of the plane, which it lauds as being twice the width of traditional corporate jets, offering three times the cabin volume.
"It's a major push for Airbus to launch sales of our aircraft in the North American market," said Derek Davies, sales and marketing director of executive and private aviation for Airbus North America. The corporate jet center is Airbus' first in the United States.
Even before the Miami showroom opened, the aircraft manufacturer nabbed its first U.S. customer: Phillip Frost, former chief executive of Miami-based IVAX, whose shares were worth $1.1 billion when the company was sold to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in January.
Frost's Airbus ACJ Prestige, whose interior is being installed in Dallas, will be ready next spring, said Don McLaughlin, Airbus North America's director of sales of executive and private aircraft. The plane retails for $50 million, plus another $8 million to $15 million for the interior, he said.
LUXURY AMENITIES
For that, he gets an airliner-sized aircraft with a bedroom, bathroom with shower, lounge area, office and other seating areas. The plane, which Frost bought for his personal use under the name Pharm Air, will be configured to hold 16 to 18 passengers.
'He came to Toulouse, [France], took one look at the Prestige interior and said, 'I like this,' " McLaughlin said. Frost did not respond to telephone and e-mail requests for comment Monday.
Overall, the business aviation market has grown in recent years, reflecting an increasingly competitive business marketplace, economic growth, the planes' improved efficiency and executives' greater access to business aviation, said Dan Hubbard, spokesman for the National Business Aviation Association in Washington.
The group's data show that since 1991, the number of companies operating business aircraft in the United States has nearly doubled, from 6,584 companies operating 9,504 aircraft to 11,305 companies operating 16,423 aircraft in 2004.
Known best for its commercial aircraft flown by carriers such as United Airlines and JetBlue Airways, Airbus launched its first corporate jet in 1997.
To date, the company has sold 70 corporate jets, including 13 this year, said David Velupillai, Airbus' marketing director of executive and private aviation, who is based in Toulouse.
Besides Frost, other corporate jet buyers include DaimlerChrysler, Kingfisher Airlines and the air forces or governments of Brazil, Venezuela, Italy, France and Thailand, Velupillai said.
But U.S. buyers have been scarce. "We just haven't been successful in getting the product known enough," Velupillai said.
Airbus is hoping to change that, choosing Miami for its sales center to piggyback on its training center, which trains flight crew, maintenance and other personnel, primarily from the Americas. The center is one of three worldwide (the others are in Toulouse and Beijing) owned by Airbus. The facility, which opened in 1999, employs 110, said Capt. Larry Rockliff, vice president of training. Two or three people will be selling corporate jets in Miami, McLaughlin said.
THREE MODELS
Airbus offers three models of corporate jets: the entry-level A318 Elite, the ACJ Prestige and the A320 Prestige. As commercial jets, the planes could hold 100 to 150 seats, depending on the model. But instead, they are configured for 14 to about 50 passengers.
All offer multiple rooms, including an area designed for an owner's "entourage," -- so that the driver, nanny and bodyguard can sit separately from the executives, Velupillai said.
The jets, which are part of the A320 family, can fly transatlantic flights, with a range of 4,600 to 6,900 miles.
Airbus' competition for its corporate jet is primarily the Boeing Business Jet, which is a derivative of the Boeing 737, said Webster O'Brien, vice president of aviation consulting firm SH&E in Boston. Airbus' smaller corporate jet also competes with the Gulfstream G550 and Bombardier Global Express. The Boeing Business Jet has 108 orders to date and 86 planes are in operation.
O'Brien said Airbus and Boeing's jets are strong planes with followings among corporate leaders and heads of state.
"For both companies, Boeing and Airbus, it's a lucrative proposal to sell more customized planes that already have strong production capability in place," he said.
