• Kestrel Aviation Management specializes in the purchase and design of ultra-luxury private aircraft.
• CEO Stephen Vella and marketing expert Nohl Martin manage projects between $ 150 million and $ 250 million.
• They balance customer demands, like five showers on an airplane, with restrictions and weight limits.

Five years ago, the story of a Boeing Dreamliner 787 refitted into a private jet made headlines around the world.

The commercial aircraft, typically filled with up to 335 passenger seats, was designed to accommodate just 40 people. The 6,500-square-foot interior featured walk-in closets, silk-accented rugs, a giant bathroom with an oversized shower and double sinks, and a home theater-style entertainment suite.

It even incorporated noise dampening technology to reduce noise in flight while rolling to just 48 decibels, compared to the standard 60.

The plane is believed to have cost more than $ 320 million in total and was bought by a Chinese billionaire and owner of Hainan Airlines, based in Haikou, China, who said he plans to lease it on charters.

The VIP 787 was developed by a small, low-key company based in Kirkland, Washington. Kestrel Aviation is the secret weapon of the private jet world, specializing in the purchase and design of private jets.

CEO Stephen Vella, a four-decade aerospace veteran, and Nohl Martin, who oversees marketing, are the only full-time employees, choosing instead to bring in additional talent as needed on each project.

Before the pandemic, revenues were $ 1 million to $ 3 million per year, Vella told Insider, and although revenue has declined, the business remains profitable.

Here is an overview of their business.

Bigger projects managed by Kestrel can cost between $ 150 million and $ 250 million

Vella estimated that one-third of his business came from very wealthy individuals around the world and two-thirds came from governments asking him for custom planes.

“Managing a VVIP airplane project is pretty intense, so we don’t work more than two at a time,” he said.

The most significant project, a 747 that cost between $ 150 million and $ 250 million to fit out the cabin, was for a government he declined to name, citing NDAs.

“There are a lot of things that go into a government plane: a secure communications suite, anti-missile systems and countermeasures – each government has a different idea of ​​what to put on, so it’s always tailor-made and unique, ”he said.

He rarely works on smaller private planes, as the smaller cabin offers very limited customization options.

Although he said he had a client from the Middle East who insisted that Kestrel improve its Bombardier Global, adding higher pixel count screens and special woods as finishes.

It also featured underfloor heating, a technology that Kestrel developed and then adopted as a standard option by rival manufacturer Gulfstream as an option on its 650 model. ‘others ? Vella said.

It usually takes around 36 months to turn a brief into flying reality

Kestrel aviation management

The core of Kestrel’s business is the Airbus and Boeing jets, the planes that Delta and others use for their commercial service.

The company acts as a middleman between manufacturers and customers, producing a proposal based on a brief – how many people the plane should carry, its likely flight routes – then trades with Chicago, Boeing and Airbus based in the Illinois, whose commercial activity is based in Toulouse, France.

He’ll buy what’s called a green airplane, the industry jargon for an airplane without a cabin interior – they are often painted in a green primer before the exterior is customized for the buyer.

Vella aggressively plays the two companies against each other, noting that the differences between their main private jets, the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737, are minimal.

During his career he purchased 350 commercial airliners. “American customers will buy Boeing and not give Airbus the time of day. It is just part of the American preference for nationalism,” he said. “In the Middle East, their inventory for wide-body VVIP aircraft? It’s 50/50.”

An out-of-the-box aircraft – an eco-friendly aircraft, plus a cabin and high-speed internet connectivity – typically costs $ 115 million to $ 120 million for the popular Airbus A320Neo.

Once the deal is signed, Vella and her team will begin conceptualizing the interior while the body of the aircraft is under construction at either factory. They work with industrial and interior designers to create detailed 3D renderings in accordance with FAA regulations.

A chalet outfitter then intervenes to furnish the interior under the supervision of Kestrel. The whole process can take up to 36 months from receiving the RFP to putting an aircraft into service, mainly because Vella and her team are focused on achieving the impossible at 36,000 feet.

Marble, showers and gongs? Interiors pose many different challenges.

One such issue is marble, a staple of luxury interiors. Thick marble slabs are too heavy – shave them too thinly to make a veneer, and they will crack, as the body of an airplane constantly flexes in flight.

The Vella team used an existing technique, which etched the marble in a thin layer and attached it to an aluminum honeycomb structure and perfected it for use in flight. The resulting material is light, strong and flexible, with minimal risk of cracking, and made its debut in this Chinese aircraft that made headlines.

“This massive bathroom in the 787 had a vanity with two sinks, but two people could easily lift it. It looked totally marble, but it was so light,” he said.

Installing a shower is simple, but baths are almost impossible. Weight constraints limit the amount of water an aircraft can carry, and there is a risk that a full tub will overflow into the choppy air and seep into electrical systems.

Instead, he’ll suggest an extra shower – he never recommends more than two on any plane, largely again based on the volume and weight of water needed.

“A client from the Middle East came to me and said, ‘I want five showers’, and we did the math: if the passengers took three showers in each one, you’d end up giving up a lot of luggage. the space under the plane, ”he said. “In the end, we narrowed it down to three out of five that he asked for.” Kestrel even designed a fake fireplace that uses lights to conjure up burning logs.

Sometimes the design elements are strategic rather than aesthetic. Vella confessed that the original buyer of the 787 decided not to keep the plane and that it was up to Kestrel to adapt the interior for resale on the open market.

“In the hallway of the main entrance, there is something that looks like a gong, and we did it because we knew it would probably sell in the Middle East or Asia and we needed architectural landmarks that would be viewed favorably, ”he said. “In Asia it is seen as a gong, while customers in the Middle East see it as a shield.”

The ultimate private jet is a Boeing 747 converted for personal use

Vella said he also worked on a few conversions of a Boeing 747, the long-range fuselage plane popular with AV geeks. Its maiden flight was in 1969, and it was the first aircraft dubbed a jumbo – Boeing has announced that the last new 747 will leave the factory in 2022.

“They weren’t offered for VVIPs until late in the day, but governments bought some of them,” he said. His company worked to equip them as private jets for four different countries.

A 747 interior has about 4,500 square feet of usable space, so the scope of the work is enormous – the bigger the plane, the more complex it is (compare that with the 2,415 square feet typical of a Boeing 787, for example). Many government-operated 747s go unnoticed at major airports.

“Most of them are unrecognizable,” he added. “It is very common in the Middle East to paint the exterior of government VIP planes in the same livery as that of the national airline.”

Once Kestrel delivers a ship, whether it’s a 747 or whatever, its role is not over. Vella knows that in ten years or so, most customers will come back to him and ask for the cabin to be torn down and redesigned (indeed, his Boeing 787 has just been sold to its third owner, a Middle Eastern entity that ‘he refuses to name).

“This is when major aircraft maintenance needs to be done, whether it is a VVIP aircraft or not,” he said. “So now is the right time to replace the leather on the seats.”