3 June 2011

Altitude Aerospace Interiors has landed its second major VIP aircraft completion contract which will see it outfit a Boeing Business Jet 737 (BBJ) VIP aircraft with a luxurious state of the art interior for a sub continental client.

The client will take possession of the brand new aircraft at the end of this year and it’s expected to arrive at Altitude’s facilities early next year. It will arrive without any interior components other than what is necessary to ferry the aircraft to New Zealand. The Altitude team will then spend the best part of a year fitting it out with a luxury bespoke interior to meet the clients’ exacting standards.

Altitude is an Air New Zealand subsidiary and will work with Air New Zealand Technical Operations to install the customised interior. A dedicated VIP team of experienced Air New Zealand technicians and Altitude engineers will manage the complex job of installing full avionic, entertainment, electrical and environmental systems onto the aircraft.

The completed fit out will cater for up to 19 passengers to travel in the highest level of comfort and luxury. Altitude General Manager Michael Pervan says that while the details of the contract are confidential, BBJ customers typically spend up to NZD$34m million on the interior – on top of the purchase price.

“Obviously contracts involving assets of this value take a lot of leg work to secure. The customer needs to be satisfied their chosen partner can deliver the highest quality product, on time and on budget. We’ve been working closely with this client since last year, including building a private jet interior mock up to showcase Altitude’s skill in producing the sort of high quality finishes and attention to detail this market expects.

“We’re confident the combined knowledge of Altitude’s engineering design excellence and Air New Zealand’s B737 experience will produce a final product the customer will be delighted with.”

This is Altitude’s second major VIP aircraft fit out contract. An Asian based customer has already engaged Altitude to undertake a similar scope of work on its new BBJ aircraft. Last year Altitude also secured several smaller refurbishment and maintenance projects for VIP jets.

“Securing these smaller contracts as well two major completion contracts is critical to building Altitude’s brand and reputation in the VIP completion market. We have carved a niche for ourselves as one of only a handful of facilities in the world able to undertake this type of specialised work.” say Head of Commercial - VIP Aircraft, Matthew Woollaston.

Altitude formerly operated as part of Air New Zealand and was known as ANZES Design Engineering. It’s been a stand alone company for almost three years, with offices in Auckland and Christchurch. Altitude uses the latest technologies and computer modelling to deliver lightweight, innovative and high quality custom aircraft furniture and interiors systems for both VIP and commercial aircraft.

ENDS

© Scoop Media