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Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will take delivery of the world’s first customised A380 superjumbo next year, a move which is likely to spur interest among other high net worth individuals in the region, the president of Airbus Middle East told Arabian Business.
Prince Alwaleed, chairman of Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding and estimated to be worth around US$21.3bn, is rumoured to have paid US$485m for the customised jumbo - dubbed ‘The Flying Palace' - when it was ordered back in 2009.
Habib Fekih, President of Airbus Middle East, confirmed on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Dubai that the aircraft would be delivered to the Saudi billionaire next year.
“The A380 is planned for next year 2013,” he confirmed, adding that it was currently the only A380 business jet on order, but he expected interest to grow once production slots came available at Airbus's manufacturing plant in France.
“A380 is a good prospect as a business jet and as a corporate jet and we have some interest, but so far we have only sold one.
“The prospects take time to mature because of two reasons: We need to find the slots for the green aircraft and we have nothing before 2015/16 for delivery… Then knowing that you need three or four years [for fitting], it means these aircraft will not be ready before 2019/20.
“After one or two aircraft the routine will be implemented and the lead time will be shortened… That is why then we believe the interest for the A380 will mature by 2015 because the timeframe will be more reasonable,” Fekih said.
The ultimate status symbol, Prince Alwaleed’s A380 jumbo is believed to include four-poster beds, a Turkish bath, storage space for a Rolls-Royce, a boardroom, a concert hall, five suites with king-size beds, a prayer room featuring computer generated prayer mats which face Makkah and a lift between floors on all three levels.
Could you imagine what would happen if a large proportion of the educated, professional worker population suddenly left (let alone the domestic workers... more
Friday, 24 May 2013 1:26 PM - Khalid@both, the world is not the same all over; thankfully, the citizens of one country view things differently than another. Europe allowing something does... more
Friday, 24 May 2013 1:25 PM - SAM
Deferred payment, in other words, never going to pay back.
Just ask Egypt or Iraq or the long list of recipients of deferred payments.
As much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty SayCould you imagine what would happen if a large proportion of the educated, professional worker population suddenly left (let alone the domestic workers... more
Friday, 24 May 2013 1:26 PM - Khalid@both, the world is not the same all over; thankfully, the citizens of one country view things differently than another. Europe allowing something does... more
Friday, 24 May 2013 1:25 PM - SAM
Top managment greed is one of the main reasons that caused the 2008 crises. hope i delivered the message..
more
As much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty SayCould you imagine what would happen if a large proportion of the educated, professional worker population suddenly left (let alone the domestic workers... more
Friday, 24 May 2013 1:26 PM - Khalid
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