A Boeing 747, which was commissioned by a Saudi prince several years ago, was dismantled following just 16 flights. This device was to serve as a particularly luxurious private jet.
This is the story of an airliner with an unusual destiny, which never found a buyer. An almost new Boeing 747 is being dismantled in the United States. The device made only 16 flights and spent only 30 hours in the air, tell our colleagues from CNN.
The device had been built several years ago. This was to be delivered – as a private jet – to Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a Saudi crown prince. In practice, this was a Boeing 747-8, one of the most advanced and expensive versions of the aircraft. The model was also a huge commercial failure for Boeing due, among other things, to its operating costs. Its interior space of a total of 460m² had to be fitted out in total luxury, at a cost amounting to nearly 50 million dollars. The device was never refurbished, however, due to the death of the Saudi prince in 2011.
Boneless in Arizona
For several years, the aircraft never found a buyer: “Nobody, apart from a Saudi head of state, would want a private business jet with four engines”, indicated Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at AeroDynamic Advisory. The aircraft might not be converted into a freighter or airliner.
Boeing ended up putting a large sum of money on the table to buy back the device, before sending it on April 5, 2022 to Pinal Airpark (Arizona). Since then, a service provider has been responsible for dismantling the aircraft, and dismantling, among other things, the four engines that fitted the plane. These are estimated at $80 million.
