The Boeing 747, which was configured as a private VIP jet, is being dismantled after just 30 hours of flight, with just 16 flights in its history.

The plane, originally intended for the Saudi blue blood, remained on the ground for almost 10 years at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, on the border of France, Switzerland and Germany.

There, the plane was supposed to be equipped with a luxurious cabin, but the plan failed, and after no new buyer was found, the plane ended up at Pinal Airport in Arizona, an aviation graveyard where planes are stripped for parts or left indefinitely.

“For governments and companies”

The aircraft belongs to the class of specially modified Boeing Business Jet designed for government and corporate customers. Its flight range exceeds 16,000 kilometers, and the usable cabin area is approximately 465 square meters.

This is the most advanced Boeing 747 ever built. The first aircraft of this series made its first flight in 2010, but ultimately the model was not commercially attractive due to high operating costs. The last aircraft of this series was delivered to Atlas Air in early 2023 and marked the end of the 747 production line.

The aircraft was destined for the Saudi Arabian government, in particular Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who died in 2011, just a few months before the scheduled delivery of the aircraft.

The ship, coded N458BJ, made a test flight in May 2012 and was delivered in June 2021.

“According to our database, he flew through San Bernardino for a couple of months, possibly then through San Antonio, Texas, and ended up in Basel in December 2012,” says Connor Diver from aviation data analysis company Cirium.

As a rule, large business jets are delivered in a “green” condition, a term associated with the color of the fuselage protective coating, which means that these aircraft are empty inside and no cabin components are installed.

“I think that’s why it was moved in the first place to be equipped,” says Diver. “Of course, this has never happened. And it seems that he “sat” for 10 years.

According to Diver, the plane was listed for sale for $95 million, nearly 73 percent below its original asking price of $350 million. It was still vacant and advertised as “ready to convert” in an ad that is still posted online today. But the Boeing was never sold.

“No one but the head of the Saudi state will be interested in a private business jet with four engines,” says Richard Abulafia. The main obstacle to the sale was the high cost of interior decoration. “Installation will cost 30, 40 or even 50 million dollars,” says Diver.

Boeing, which refused to answer a series of questions from CNN about the aircraft, eventually bought it in 2022 from German aircraft sales company Aircraft Finance. The aircraft departed for Arizona on April 15, 2022, adding another 10 hours to the total flight time. His last takeoff from Basel was filmed on YouTube by groups of people who record and track the planes.

Scrap metal

At the Pinal Airpark graveyard, a Boeing contractor is still working on dismantling the plane, which has already been stripped of its most valuable parts. “I’ve seen photos of it and it’s already disassembled, the engines have already been removed,” says Diver. “They were basically brand new and each one is probably worth $20 million, so four of them are worth $80 million.”

Source: CNN