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Sky Leviathans
Michelle Seaton
11/01/2005
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For example, a
30-year-old 727 with 60,000 flight hours is barely middle-aged. It still has
considerable use left in it, and a price point that, compared to a new BBJ,
is too attractive to ignore. Bierwirth particularly favors the fast and
fuel-efficient Boeing 757. She says that a 757 with 30,000 hours on it will
still have decades of private use ahead, and can be converted into a luxury
private aircraft for far less than the cost of even a used BBJ. “The biggest
problem now is that you can’t find a good 757 for sale,” she says. The older,
slower, louder Boeing 727s are now so popular and so difficult to acquire that
at least one broker is offering quarter shares of one at $2.5 million
each.
TOP VIEW
Rather than pay $60 million and wait 18 months for delivery of a
Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), some private aircraft enthusiasts who desire the
space and comfort of a BBJ are instead opting for used, overhauled commercial
airliners. These travelers have found that some members of the Boeing commercial
fleet—in particular the 727, 737 and 757—have thousands of flight hours left in
them and can be purchased and upgraded with luxury appointments for far less
than the cost of a new BBJ. However, costs can easily spiral upward, depending
on the age of the aircraft, whether its technology is up-to-date and what
amenities one desires. |
In fact, the market for many used Boeing commercial jets suitable for
conversion is becoming very active, as more private aircraft owners come to
appreciate the cost differential between these models and a new BBJ. According
to Bierwirth, a used 727 currently commands between $4.5 million and $8.5
million. If, in addition, its engines have been replaced, the plane will sell
for anywhere between $9 million and $20 million.
The MD-87—a newer aircraft
built by McDonnell Douglas (which was acquired by Boeing in 1997) with a longer
range than the 727—can command between $12 million and $20 million. Meanwhile,
Boeing’s more recent models, the 757 and 767, sell for $45 million and
up.
Converted airliners have several advantages, aside from value, over newer
corporate aircraft. The first is that they require relatively little
maintenance. Airliners are designed to fly thousands of hours and endure
thousands of landings each year with minimal time in the shop. The most
aggressive private owner will put less than 800 hours on an airplane annually.
When repairs and inspections are required, they can be carried out at virtually
any airport in the world that is big enough to accommodate a large jet. As a
result, labor costs can be $20 per hour cheaper for airliners than they are for
most business jets. Moreover, parts are substantially less expensive and more
easily obtained. Gabbert will pay $800 for a new tire for his 727, while a much
smaller tire for his Citation Encore will cost $1,200; a new windshield on the
727 runs $4,500; for the Encore, it is $20,000.
 | A FLOORPLAN for the $60 million Boeing Business Jet. (Photograph courtesy The Boeing Company.) |
Of course, there are
disadvantages. Larger planes tend to be slower than smaller private jets such as
Gulfstreams and Global Express planes, and they need much longer runways,
particularly at high altitudes or high temperatures. Some smaller regional
airports turn airliners away because of noise restrictions, weight restrictions
or because the longer wingspan makes these planes a hazard to smaller aircraft,
or even to the light posts at the edge of the parking apron. Finally, finding
adequate hangar space can be a challenge.
 | THE TYPICAL interior of a BBJ, which has become the standard for jumbo
private jets. (Photograph courtesy The Boeing Company.) |
The most significant inconvenience,
however, is the cost of fuel. A Gulfstream V, for example, will burn around 450
gallons per hour of flight, while a Boeing 737 or Airbus 320 will burn nearly
twice as much in that same hour. The three engines on a 727 will burn a total of
1,800 gallons an hour. As the price of jet fuel continues to rise, so will the
cost of operating these larger airplanes.
Discotheques in the Sky
Aviation consultant William Quinn, founder and CEO
of Aviation Management Systems in Portsmouth, N.H., recently scanned several
databases of aircraft for sale and found no 727s, 747s or 757s—just a single 737
built in 1993 and put into service in Austria. Purchased new off the line in
1993, this jet would have cost $30 million. Now, the same airplane with 10 years
of hard labor ferrying commercial passengers along a regional route would run
less than $10 million.
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