Private Aircraft and Jet Charters

The world's 13th richest man has set a new standard for billionaire opulence with the first VIP order for the A380 superjumbo.

Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who topped the Forbes Arabia rich list last year, has invested a small piece of his estimated $20.3bn (£9.8bn) fortune in an Airbus "Flying Palace", which is priced out of most tycoons' range with a retail price of $310m.

Airline customers for the mega-jet, which can seat up to 850 people, have managed to win sizeable discounts by placing bulk orders but the Riyadh-based billionaire is expected to have paid the full price - before adding the multimillion pound cost of kitting out the airliner.

The passenger version of the A380 has already raised the bar in luxurious air travel, with inaugural customer Singapore Airlines fitting its business class section with double-bed cabins.

However, private buyers will have much more leeway to indulge their whims, because the lack of hundreds of economy class seats leaves ample room for a kitchen, boardroom, cocktail bar, gymnasium, jacuzzi and giant plasma TV screens. Virgin Atlantic, one of the biggest investors in innovative airline products and a prospective A380 buyer, has considered installing a swimming pool and creche in its planes.

Prince Alwaleed signed the sale agreement for the A380 in a ceremony at the Dubai Airshow today. David Velupillai, marketing director at Airbus executive aviation, said there were 25 VIP Boeing 747s in service and at least five more orders for large VIP planes are expected over the next few years.

He added that the plane will be delivered around 2010 and will take about two years to fit. Asked if the prince had chosen the layout of his new jet, Velupillai said his customer had "not decided yet". He said: "In general terms, the VIP A380s will have lots of bedrooms, plus lounges where up to 20 people can be seated."

Velupillai added that the A380 gave Prince Alwaleed considerably more room than his smaller 747-400.

"He will get 50% more floor space. What a lot of corporate jet customers want is to trade up to something bigger and better. If you already have a 747, then bigger and better is an A380."

Alwaleed, a cousin of the Saudi King Abdullah, made the bulk of his fortune from a high-risk investment in Citigroup in the 1990s, although the value of his stake has fallen by a third this year after Citigroup was caught in the centre of the sub-prime crisis. His other shareholdings include News Corporation, Time Warner and Canary Wharf. Alwaleed tours his business empire in a custom-made Boeing 747-400, which pales in comparison with the 73m-long A380.

"Prince Alwaleed's order means that Airbus' sales success in the corporate jet market now extends from its smallest aircraft, the A318 Elite, all the way up to its largest, the A380 Flying Palace," said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer.

Article Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/nov/12/theairlineindustry