空中私邸

Ever thought of decorating your private jet like your private residence？ Already tired of the monotonous looking seats and the dull business-style cabins？ Why not custom make your cabin to make it more comfortable and reflect your taste. If the future of mankind lies in aviation， then the future of private flying lies in customization.Whether your business jet is large， medium-sized， or small， read on to get some ideas about what and how can you modify your cabin.

Customize your cabin

Aircraft is only functional？ For many， the answer is no， especially for Saudi Arabic Prince Al-Waleed. It is said that his BBJ 47 and ACJ380 are furnished with a luxury double-bed room， a cozy bath， a spacious dining room， a top class kitchen， a gym， and even a swimming pool. To him， airplane is his “Flying Palace” just like Air Force One is the flying White House for the President of the United States.

Steve Taylor， the President of Boeing Business Jets once said： “If you go to a business jet cabin of Gulfstream or Bombardier， you will see clean and comfortable interiors， but time and again， you start to feel that there are in fact no difference， you either move the sofa from the left to the right， or move the kitchen from the front to the aft cabin. Not much customized decoration.” Today more and more people want their airplane to be different， to reflect their personal taste， and to meet their unique needs.

Cabin modification is not as complicated as most might think. It has evolved into a full-fledged global industry. In 2012， the first Business Jet Interiors World Expo was held in Cannes， France where interior companies presented their cabin décor concepts. Studio Marcelo Teixeira Ideas Motion （SMT）， for example， presented an original concept expressing “Brazilian Aesthetic”， which divide the cabin into three main areas-a “sky kitchen” with a bar； a meeting room defined by natural imagery； and a cozy and warm area for relaxation. The expo saw many more new materials and new concepts， such as increased viewing area， new ambient design， new cabin furniture design， in-flight home appliances， user-friendly bath and toilet design， and fully functional office， just to name a few.

The expo delivers one message， that you can modify your aircraft cabin to reflect your personality and meet personal needs. If one day aircraft becomes an everyday commute vehicle， in-flight cabin might as well be an integrate part of our living space.

How to modify？

You can choose from a customized modification or a modular configuration.

Customized modification follows no blueprint. If you want a customized airplane， you can take a “green plane （which has no livery or interior furnishing）” from the manufacturer， and employ a professional interior company to translate your wildest ideas into reality. You can build a “flying residence” with your preferred material， color and design. BBJ and ACJ are best delivered with customized interiors. Air Force One， business jet of the Saudi Arabic royal family， Heads of States， business leaders， and celebrities are all customized versions.

In a modular configuration， the manufacturer divides the cabin into different modules. Customers can mix and match different functional areas， furniture， materials， finish， and color based on personal needs and aesthetics. Modular modification might not fully reflect your taste as much as a customized interior， but it could still satisfy your personal needs.

You could choose either of the above based on your aircraft type， functional requirement， and budget. But either way， you could better enjoy your airplane.

Time and Cost

Whichever way you choose to modify your airplane， you will have to wait a long time for airworthiness certification. In most countries， cabin design， equipments， and materials have to obtain certification from civil aviation regulators. In the United States， the regulator is FAA， in Europe， EASA， and in China， CAAC. So apart from the time needed for furnishing， certification will also take quite a long time.

Take Global 6000 for example， it requires 5 months to get all materials， 10 months to furnish the interior according to design， and several more months for the civil aviation regulator to approve and certify the design and the furnishing. By the time the plane was delivered to you， it is already a year and a half later. But it is worthwhile when you finally find yourself on your customized plane.

Bring your office on board

Who would need an office on an aircraft？ It could be heads-of-states， presidents of multinationals， or any private jet owner. William Faulkner sometime wrote on the plane he bought for his brother with the handsome royalties from his prize winning novel-The Sound and the Fury. Many people like to work during the flight. With a comfortable office on board， you can make full use of your flying time attending to work， rather than staring blankly out of the window. Frequent fliers would surely benefit from an in-flight office.

If you own a large business jet with a spacious cabin， you could have the luxury of a dedicated office. With a medium-sized or light jet， you could still have an office by integrating lounge， entertainment area and office together.

Design your Air Force One

Usually on an airplane， an office is at the same time a meeting room or conference room. To create an atmosphere similar to the ground， in-flight offices are often furnished with carpets and chandeliers. The aircraft owner will have his/her own desk and chair， behind which are a meeting table and a round of chairs or sofa. If you have seen the movie Air Force One， you might still remember its classic office setting.

Chairs and sofa are all fixated to the floor， but can be rotated 180 degrees， so you can speak to all directions. Plus a computer， a LCD TV， a music player， and a hi-fi stereo system， you can work on the go and relax upon arrival.

Office on Small Aircraft

If you own a medium or light business jet， you can also have a nice office area by removing extra seats to make space for a retractable desk， or installing a big screen satellite TV opposite to your chair. You could have a leather chair for yourself as it could absorb turbulence. A vase with bright colored fresh flowers could be fixed beside the window to alleviate the stress of flying.

In summary， if you want to configure an office on a medium and light aircraft， you will have to remove extra installments on board in order to have a relaxed working space.

Sky Kitchen

It is said that in the 1980s， Maotai is served on domestic flights， while nowadays airline meal is not nearly as good as a 20 RMB meal on a high speed rail. But with a private plane， you can have it all the way you like， like building an in-the-air restaurant.

How romantic would it be to dine above the clouds！ During long-haul flights， if you could dine with you friends， your love， or your family， complimented with good wine， you won’t even notice the pass of time. But， how can we ensure the best taste in the air？

Dining on an airplane is not as good as it is on a train， because on a train you can cook with open flame， but even in your private plane， the only tool you can use is a microwave. But why in the movies， business tycoons are often portrayed as having sumptuous meals on board？

The answer is simple. Before they get on board， they will have tasty food from their favorite restaurants delivered to their aircraft and stored in fridges. The cabin crew then heats and serves the food during the flight. Code dishes and dessert， including various vegetables， salad， sushi， cheese， ham， sausage， and chocolate have always been important food on board， be it in commercial airline first classes， or in private jets.

Dining Table

Heavy materials such as marble and metal could not be used in large quantity on board， as it could easily exceed aircraft payload. But if you really prefer marble tables， professional interior companies can help. By installing a marble surface on a table made of aviation materials， you can have a lighter version of marble table. For the same reason， you may find many light and quality new materials in your modified cabin.

If you love dining with friends or family， you can install a retractable round table. Airbus offered round table on one of its ACJs to attract Asian buyers， because to Asians， round means complete and union. Comlux Jet also designed a round table specifically for its ACJ319 that can not only serve as a dining table， but also be retracted to be a square table for Majong playing.

Must-have kitchenware

Most kitchen wares are not allowed on board because of the little space and restriction of open flames. Cupboards on board are often made of light composite materials to reduce weight. Microwave and fridge are also indispensable for storing and heating food brought from the ground. If you like DIY cake or snack， you can also bring an oven onboard， and impress your friends with your skills. Of course， a perfect in-the-air kitchen goes without an Italian Moka Pot， an easy to operate coffee maker that will bring rich flavor to your trip. As to trays， forks， knives， and chopsticks， you can purchase anyway you like.

Luxury bedroom

Good rest ensures efficient work. A cozy bedroom will help you relax during your journey. Aren’t the frequent fliers on commercial airlines longing for a bed when they are exhausted by long time seating？ With soft carpet and mild lighting， an in-flight bedroom can be a new way of living.

When you modify your aircraft， you can let your home decor dream free. Tell you designer what you want about color， lighting， and IFE systems， they will design your ideal bedroom in the air. A famous Hollywood producer， for example， installed a theater on board so he can watch movies during flying. As in Godfather， big name producer would not waste time selecting roles in a bed. Most award-winning casts are decided on luxury in-flight bedrooms or theaters.

If you own a Boeing 747-8， you can configure the whole upper deck into a bedroom， equipped with VOD system， satellite communication system， and airborne surveillance cameras. Or you may install an “aircraft elevator” developed by Greenpoint Technologies， which could carry four passengers or one wheelchair passenger and an accompany from the ground to the main deck as a secure and private boarding passage for VIP passengers. But to avoid accidents caused by slippery during take-off and landing， in-flight bedrooms are only used during cruise.

Beds on short-range business jet

For owners of short range business jet， although you cannot place a full-size bed in the cabin， you can still have the equivalent of a bed with an extendable long sofa， or four sofa that can be integrated together. Unlike on a BBJ or ACJ where you have your private bedroom， on a small aircraft， you may have to sleep in the same cabin as your crew members， but nonetheless， you can still enjoy the comfort of a bed no less than in a luxury suite.

Bathroom

Is it necessary to install a bathroom on board？ For frequent inter-continental fliers， a bath room could be very helpful. Because for them， flight hours might be the very few time that they could take a rest. A shower in the air could help increase blood circulation， improve sleep quality， and beat jet lag. After all， for most frequent fliers， flight arrival means the start of endless meetings and networking activities.

Turbulence is inevitable during flight. But you do not have to worry about slipping during shower because designers will give non slip treatment to the bathroom floor. The only thing you may want to keep in mind is to save water， because an aircraft can only carry a fixed amount of water.

In-flight Bar

If you enjoy drinking or have a thing for bars， it will be more meaningful to install a bar counter in the cabin than to have a double bed. Commercial airlines only serve a limited choice of wines， but on your private jet， you can build your bar after the best one on the ground. After all， it is always relaxing to taste wines.

You can select you preferred color for the in-flight bar. If you think a bar wastes too much space， you may replace it with a wine cabinet and enjoy wines on your seat. But again， cabinets require certification of the civil aviation authority.

No Lafite on board

Can we drink Lafite or Latour in the air？ Wine experts would advise against storing or drinking expensive wines on board. Top wines like Lafite are too tender that a slight turbulence may affect its storage. The low pressure in cabin will also impair the taste of vintage wines.

For private jet owners who could afford cabin modification， Lafite might not even be considered as luxury， but in general， aircraft cabin is not an ideal place for wine-tasting.

So what should we drink in the air？ Fruity and strong wines are good choices， like inexpensive New World wines from Chile， Australia， or Argentina. If you prefer French wine， you could try red wines from Languedoc-Roussillon， For white wine， you could choose from Bordeaux white wine， New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc， German white wine， or ice wine. Just remember， what tastes best on board is not necessarily the most expensive.

If there is one pricey wine suitable for in-flight drinking， it is champagne. It is a superb enjoyment to drink bubbling wine in the thin air 10，000 meters in the air. Spanish Jewelry Designer Paloma Sanche got many of his inspirations from drinking champagne in the air.

Cocktails recommended

You should always bring some fruit and fresh juice on board. You can either have it fresh， or use it to make fruit cocktails， which is sweet and alcohol-low. A cocktail made of soda， fruit juice and vodka or tequila can not only supplement the energy you needed， but also alleviate fatigue during flight.

This is shown by the wine list of many commercial airlines. Singapore Airlines， for examples， serves Singapore Sling for passengers at all classes to help them relieve fatigue. If you want fun， Virgin Atlantic installed the world’s largest in-flight bar on one of its A330 served by the best bartender in Manhattan.

Interior Companies

The design， furnishing， certification and delivery of business jets cabins are usually completed by professional interior design companies.

These companies should also be certified by civil aviation regulators and business jet manufacturers. Most interiors companies in the world are authorized completion centers of either Boeing or Airbus. Nearly every aircraft type of Boeing and Airbus can be modified by companies like Lufthansa Technik， Jet Aviation， Ameco and Teaco.

Designers from other fields are also entering the aircraft modification industry but focus mainly on specific aspects. New entrants， like Brabus， the preferred car tuning company of Mercedes that announced its plan for business jet cabin modification， or Metrojet Ltd， which announced its membership in The Leather Institute， only offer service for leather products and sofa design， because they are not able to provide design and modification for the whole cabin. Nonetheless， luxury car interior service providers are penetrating this growing market with their unique design philosophies.

Dassault Falcon， for example， commission BMW to design the interior for its 2000S. Although the modification is still completed by Dassault Falcon， the BMW design offers a breakaway from traditional function oriented designs. Apparently， future interior designs will emphasize more on personality and aesthetics

What interior companies do？

With the development of science and technology， more and more materials can be used on aircraft， which pushes up the requirements on cabin design. It is therefore highly recommended to select a professional company， such as Lufthansa Technik or Ameco that excels in both design and completion， or Delta Interior Design which is dedicated to cabin design. The former can ensure on-time delivery， while the latter could meet customized design requirements. All material used for modification must be tested for flame retardance， smoke， and toxicity. And in-flight furniture must be tested at 9 times the force of gravity to ensure they will not dissemble during emergency landings.

To ensure your modified aircraft can acquire airworthiness certification， make sure your modification provider has necessary certification from civil aviation authorities and manufacturers.

Apart from sofa， desk， and bed， there are many other optional installments， such as communication and entertainment systems. Today， in-flight life is getting increasingly colorful as Mahjong， massage chair， humidifier， and remote control are finding their way into the cabin. Some customers may install airborne surveillance cameras or proximity security system. It is said that Russian oligarch Abramovich even installed an over-100，000-pound anti-missile system on his B767.